


Matter of Mind

by JahStorybook



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Blu Scout/Red sniper - Freeform, Drama, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Blood and Gore, Non con is not between Scout and Sniper, Other, Psychological Trauma, Red Scout/Blu medic, Short Scout, Torture, background scout/medic, good ending, mostly scout/sniper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2020-03-02 14:37:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18812941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JahStorybook/pseuds/JahStorybook
Summary: THIS WORK HAS BEEN EDITED A BIT!!!!The Blu Scout suddenly goes missing and both Red and Blu teams have a stake in finding him, including the Red Sniper, who's more than a little friendly with his enemy Scout. Lots of Spy Dad! Lots of Sniper/Scout! Even some Scout/Medic!!!





	1. Tragedy Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly just an intro to the story, so my sincerest apologies for it being so short and a bit messy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited!!! Guess who's rewriting a whole damn story in third person? THIS IDIOT

Getting called to the Spook’s office almost always meant you’d done something to royally piss him off. Whether it was some snide remark about someone he was close to or something you did during a match that cost him a point, the consequences were usually grim and Sniper wasn't looking forward to meeting him and suffering them. He hadn’t even worked out what he’d done just yet, but as he pushed Spy's door open and felt that cold stare shift to look at him, Sniper knew it must be bad. That or maybe Spy still hadn't forgiven him for taking what he held most dear, he thought to himself with a small grin. He stepped in, letting the door close behind him and effectively trapping Sniper in the lion’s den.

Its true things between them were less than friendly, purely on account of Sniper's relationship with Spy's son, but they’d managed to stay mostly civil when in each other’s presence and last Sniper checked he hadn't wronged Scout in any way lately. Everything had been quite domestic, but Spy seemed almost anxious sitting at his expensive desk.

“Here I am, Spook. Mind telling me what was so important I had to come all the way down here?” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, making Sniper sigh. He approached it slowly, just in case Spy actually called him down here to stab him in the back or gut him like a fish. Cautiously taking a seat, Sniper glanced around the room to make sure he wasn’t playing some sort of trick. ”Well?”

“Thank you for coming, mon ami. Lately I have been… concerned, about my son and I need information on him. You are still courting him, correct?” After staring at him for about two seconds Sniper stood up, turning to leave his office. “Stop.”

“I am not about to have this conversation with you, Spook. Once was more than enough for me. You go and ask Scout to his face if you’re so concerned about our relationship.” His butterfly knife flew by Sniper, then, stabbing into the wall as the lanky Aussie reached for the door handle. A sudden memory of the first time he’d asked about their relationship fluttered around his thoughts, distracting Sniper for a moment with a shiver that ran down his spine mercilessly. Spies don't like people messing with their families, especially this one.

“I do not care about who my son chooses to bed, that isn’t why I asked you here.” Now he held Sniper's full attention. He turned back to Spy, walking to the table and standing there. He wasn’t going to waste time sitting back down, but the look in Spy's eyes told him this was a conversation to have face to face.

“So then, why did you call me here, Spy?” He sat back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation. I was sure at this point he was more angry at himself for having to ask me anything in the first place. 

"Tell me, do you know where my son has been disappearing to so late at night zhese past few weeks, then? I hear he often times isn't in his own room.” Sniper looked at him carefully, measuring how much he should tell him outright. A good majority of those nights that little ankle biter had found his way into Sniper's bed, but he was sure this spook already knew that, and if he didn't... well Sniper would prefer to keep his organs inside his body. Spy did know though, he figured, as he wouldn't have had that stabbing look in his eyes if he didn't know. Better not to bring it up anyway, still unless Sniper wanted a knife in the back.

“Now this is a surprise, doesn’t that spastic gremlin tell you everything?” That was the wrong thing to say, apparently, as Spy sat up rigidly, glaring daggers at Sniper while he flicked his cigarette ashes into his ashtray.

“Very funny, Bushman. However, today is not zhe day to make light of me. Is he not your lover, surely you know where he’s been spending his nights off base?” Sniper froze up at that. He hadn’t known Scout’d been staying off base, and didn’t know what to say in response. Of course, he knew the sociable guy had made a friend who he sometimes went out drinking with; Scout always referred to him as his 'Pally' or something equally vague and refused to introduce them saying 'you guys will scare him off and then I won't have _anyone_ normal to talk to' if Sniper remember correctly.

Despite his shock at the little revelation, Sniper wasn't about to let Spy drive any wedges in his relationship, not when things were going so well. 

“I don’t keep him on a leash, if that’s what you’re implying, Spook. He’s smart enough to make his own decisions, and I know he’d never cheat on me. You should know that, too.” That seemed to irk the spook some, much to Sniper's satisfaction.

“I agree with you zhat he is not one to stoop so low, however with one such as yourself for a lover, zhere is no telling where he’d go to seek proper affection.” Now, Sniper knew he only said that to get a rise out of him, maybe even to motivate him into slipping up and telling him more than Sniper wanted to. His temper got the better of him anyway and he gave him a reaction alright, just not the one Spy may have preferred.

“Don’t try to pull that shit on me, you bloody Spook. We're doing great, and Scout is better than that and you know it! He cares more about each individual of his team than probably all of us combined,” Sniper shouted, slamming his hands on his desk. "He's a good man and I love him." Once more Sniper was about to leave but this time Spy stood to stop him, a more desperate air to him.

“Wait,” he called, his voice different than before, calmer and much more gentle. Sniper glanced back at him, still ready to leave but giving him one more chance to say what he needed to say. “I’m... sorry. It does not matter where he's going I suppose, I just want to know that he is... Are you at least keeping my boy safe?”

“He’s safe as long as I’m by his side, Spy. I’d never let anything hurt him and he always calls when he needs me.” That was the whole truth, too. That little guy was more than a Blu Scout to him, he was shaping up to be Sniper's whole world, or at least a good part of it. If he went and disappeared now, after all they’d been through, Sniper may let this Spook gut him all he wants. Wouldn't be much point in carrying on without Scout after he'd went and fit him into every plan he's made for the future. Spy nodded at his honesty, sitting down and dropping his head into his hands.

“I will keep you to your word, Bushman. My son takes after his mother in regards to being so sensitive,” he picked his glass up, running his finger over the thin rim. “If anything happens to my boy, Bushman, I will take you out into the desert, gut you like a fish, and put a bullet in your skull.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Funny thing about karma, it hits faster than you expect it to. All the nights Sniper ignored his attempt at conversation in favor of sleep, all the days he pushed him away with the promise of some special treatment later on, perhaps they were to blame. Maybe Sniper shouldn't have been so cocky about telling Spy Scout always called, or being so sure that nothing bad could happen as long as Mann co. needed them. No, there were a lot of things that Sniper could blame, but the truth was that no invisible force was responsible, these things just happen.

It was not long after falling asleep when the call came. The loud tone jarred him awake quickly and with much confusion. The phone in his camper didn’t ring often, so when it’s shrill tone pulled him from his near sound sleep at whatever ungodly hour it was, Sniper knew it must be important. Rolling out of bed quickly to get up and answer the phone, he was painfully aware that he was still half asleep and probably wouldn't understand anything on the other line. Or so he thought.

“Hello,” Sniper said, rubbing at his face in an effort to shake off the mental claws trying to drag him back into bed. The frantic woman on the other side didn't waste a second responding.

“Sniper, it’s Miss Pauling. Is Scout there with you? The Blu Scout?” Before he could even answer she continued talking. “He left the base yesterday evening with the Blu team’s Demoman and hasn’t returned, people are starting to worry.” A surge of fear shot through Sniper at that. What time is it right now? He scrambled to turn a light on, glancing at the clock in his little kitchen. It had just passed four.

“He isn’t here. Piss! I’ll go tell Spy, we’ll get everyone looking for him!” He hung up, stumbling to put pants on so he could hunt down that little ankle biter. What did this mean? Was he just off with that other drinking buddy of his again? Scout knew better than to stay out this late without checking in with someone, especially if he had left the base with them. Spy was going to have a field day with this, he just knew it. 

* * *

“What do you mean he isn’t back yet? Back from where,” Spy shouted, slamming his chair back as he got up. Sniper didn’t want to have to be the one to wake up Spy, but to his surprise, and somewhat fear, he was still here, sitting in his office as though he never left, and was contemplating something with the same tired face as before. Did this man ever sleep? Had Sniper ever even seen him blink?

“He went out drinking yesterday with his team’s Demoman in a bar off base and never came back. By the time Demo noticed him gone he called the base to let them know. That was over six hours ago, Spy, and no one has seen or heard from him since he went in that bar. Where ever he is, he isn't in range of respawn.” Though his face was hidden behind his balaclava, Sniper could tell there was fury written all over it as he clenched his jaw, fingers gripping at the edge of his desk as he leaned over it. The menacing look in his eyes would probably scare death herself if she tried to appear. Behind that anger and malice, though, Sniper recognized a deep set fear he'd only ever saw on parents. This Spook wasn't mad at Scout, not entirely at least, he was in a frenzy because his child was missing, gone, nowhere to be seen. He was going to become an even bigger ass the longer Scout remained gone as he grew more anxious. Sniper knew this and could only say that the Boston runner better be ready for hell itself when he was back because Spy was going to need something to do in order to express that worry and fear.

Unless Scout hadn’t just gone off somewhere and this was much more serious. If that was the case, someone better watch their back cause nobody takes a Spy’s kid and lives to tell about it. And before he kills him, Sniper knows he’ll take his sweet time creatively reminding the man what hell on earth really meant. Lets hope Scout just ran off for a day or two, though. No need to assume the worst so soon into the day, Sniper reminded himself almost hastily. Scout was probably just wandering around somewhere.

“I’m going to contact the administrator, go wake up everybody. Both teams, get zhem to Miss Pauling, now!” He didn’t have to tell Snipre twice.


	2. The Search Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seeing as how that intro was so short, I figured y'all would want this chapter soon.  
> Woohoo, editing this chapter and also fixing it to 3rd person!!

Even though Sniper was use to rising early, this was a whole different experience. The sun wasn't even out yet and the chill of dawn was still sitting on everyone and everything. It hadn't taken long to get a hold of the others, barely an hour after leaving Spy's office Sniper had managed to track down everyone in the base. Both Red and Blu teams were gathered in the Red teams cafeteria, muttering and complaining about how early it was. If it weren’t for the fact that Sniper was so worried, he’d still be as dead tired and confused as most of them.

However, now that he was more awake the reality of the situation was setting in, leaving a distracted mess where Sniper was usually composed and careful. He reminded himself that Scout was probably just lost getting back while Miss Pauling got everyone’s attention. She was standing beside the Red Spy, her eyes more than a little dull with sleep. Sniper realized everyone was exhausted, even her. The bright buzzing lights didn't help.

“Okay everyone, we may not have much time so pay attention! Nearly seven hours ago, Blu Scout and Blu Demoman were drinking in a bar nearly ten miles off base. Approximately thirty minutes after entering the bar, Demo lost sight of Scout and could not find him on the premises. As far as Demo is aware, Scout had not been drunk, and did not leave in the truck they drove to get there. Scout is now considered missing.” There were various responses to that throughout the room, most ranging from disbelief to worry. It was with a brief glance that Sniper noticed the Blu demoman wasn’t among the other Blu’s in the cafeteria. He wouldn’t be surprised if Spy had sent him to respawn the second he learned who was with Scout when he disappeared.

Miss Pauling stepped aside to let Spy talk, sitting down by the administrator who’d come to call off the matches today. A missing mercenary was serious business and no one was playing around. Mann Co's real greatest assets were the people they employed to do the dirty work, to kill, and they couldn't afford one going missing, not with the secrets they all knew.

“Scout should have been found hours ago, even if he had decided to walk back to zhe base. As you know, we can’t involve any local authorities in zhis matter without going through our superiors, and time is of zhe utmost importance. So, we will be putting together search teams of two, different teams and different classes, and three of us will be going to the bar to find any trace of where Scout has gone. I want every available man, woman, and person out there looking for that Scout, and gentlemen,” the tired Spy lit his cigarette, the smoke puffing up as he took a long drag of it before continuing with a voice that lacked all hostility despite his words, “please, find zhat stupid boy.”

The hunt was on.

* * *

Seeing as how Sniper was Scout’s lover and Spy his father, the two of them were heading to the bar in hopes of finding some clue as to where he was. Blu Demo was with them as well, just in case he remembered anything from being back at the bar. They had taken his camper, and all three of the  were crammed into the front, discussing everything Demoman could remember about the previous night.

“What was the first thing you did when you entered that bar, Demo?” He was sitting on the other side of Spy who was an absolute nervous wreck, tapping his fingers against his arms as he crossed them over his chest, cigarette smoldering between his lips.

“We found ourselves a place to sit and I ordered myself a drink. The laddie said he didn’t wanna drink if he was going to be driving us home, so he didn’t order anything. He did say he was waiting for his friend to show up, though.” Sniper couldn’t really stop himself from looking at the side of the road while he drove, expecting to see Scout just sitting there, waiting for someone to find him and drive him back to the base. That obviously was just his own wishful thinking. Miss Pauling had likely already been up and down this stretch of dirt road, looking for him. 

“And did his friend ever show up," Sniper asked, pulling his shades down over his eyes as the rising sun began to blind him.

“Some other fella did sit with us for a bit but he left before Scout could introduce us, so I'm not sure he even knew the guy. I think Scout went to the bathroom after he left, but that’s where it all gets fuzzy.” Sniper nodded, keeping his eyes forward.

“And after that? Did he approach anyone, or did anyone try to talk to him,” he asked, glancing over at Spy, who’s anxious tapping finally reached a breaking point and he stopped, letting out a shaky breath.

“Does this ridiculous vehicle not go any faster,” he asked, not giving Demo a chance to answer Sniper's question. Sniper was already going pretty fast, with his foot pressed into the pedal like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.

“We’re almost there, Spook, calm down.” He was not calmed by this. “So, Demo, do you remember anything else before you noticed he was gone.”

“My head’s in a tizzy but I definitely seen him pop off to the bathroom,” Demo said, squinting his eyes shut as he tried to remember even just the tiniest detail from last night that he may be overlooking. "I... I don't remember after that, its just empty."

“Did anyone get up to follow him? Think real hard.” The Scottish man was trying his best and was mostly sober. Sniper had never seen him or our Demoman this sober before.

“I know I didn't see anyone go in there before him, but it’s all a blank after he got up,” he said, finally dropping his head into his hands.

“This is zhe place, pull over,” Spy demanded, still anxious. Sniper did as he instructed, though with a bitter remark on knowing it was the place, parking in the near empty car park. Not many people were drinking at this time of morning. Not anyone with a happy life, anyway.

“Demo, go retrace your steps, see if you can remember anything you might have forgotten. Spook and I will look around.” There was a few tired patrons in the bar, most of them looking like they had been here all night, but Sniper barely even noticed them as he looked around.

“I’m going to go search the restrooms, perhaps Scout left behind some clue there,” Spy said, splitting away from him. With a nod Sniper went straight to the man tending the bar, hoping he’d remember seeing Scout here last night. He seen Sniper coming and set his glass down, picking up another to polish it with a filthy rag.

* * *

Walking off from Sniper Spy made his way to the bathrooms, grimacing at the filthy door. He detested even having to touch the handle with his glove, but if there was something that'd point to the whereabouts of Scout then he'd risk getting a little dirty.

Upon entering the room he was hit with both a deep sense of dread and pure disgust. Of course, the disgust was only for the grimy floors and walls that looked as if they had never known the touch of a sponge, while the dread was for the sheer mess and chaos of the place. One of the sinks was broken, a jagged piece of it on the floor, and a soap dispense was off the wall and sitting in the second sink. The lights flickered and the door squeaked heavily as it shut behind him, seeming to echo even after it had stopped moving and settled. Glancing around he noted that most of the mess could have just been caused by rowdy patrons too drunk to walk, but why was the tiled wall cracked as though someone put a head through it?

A steady drip of water from the broken sink sounded more hollow than his footsteps when he walked to the first bathroom stall. While he took a moment to prepare myself, Spy realized that just by my foot was a familiar white strip of bandage tape. His chest tightened painfully as he dropped down, grabbing the tape and lifting it up to look at it closer. Stained with blood and covered in filthy footprints, it was hard to say for sure but he just knew it was Scout's. That ridiculous boy always kept his hands wrapped, only changing the tape when he absolutely had to. Spy supposed to an extent he liked to protect his hands as well, so maybe it was something Scout had gotten from him.

Dropping his clenched hand and turning back to the stalls, Spy worried about what I might find in them now. Had they really searched the bar already? If not, what if Scout was in there right now? Injured or... Without a second thought Spy pushed the first door open, not remotely prepared for the possibilities but knowing there was little else he could do. A relieved but tired sigh escaped his lips as he found the small stall empty. What had he expected, that Scout would be in the first stall and no one had noticed all night? Kicking the stall doors open one at a time Spy looked for anything else that may have been his, finding nothing but puke and a lady's shoe. Clutching the tape in his hand and trying to compose himself, Spy exited the bathroom.

* * *

“You here to ask about that kid who’s missing,” the short man behind the bar asked the second Sniper reached him, noting his uniform and the serious air around him.

“Yeah, went by the name Scout, did you see him at all?” The man shook his head, nodding to the end of the bar where a gruff man sat drinking a tall glass of water. “My brother was the one mindin’ the bar last night. He told me that a lady from your mercenary company asked him loads of questions and mentioned more people may be stopping by to ask more.” Sniper nodded minutely, thanking him and making his way to the hunched over man, noting his tired expression and closed eyes. He pulled a chair out beside him, taking a seat.

“I hear you were the one tending the bar last night. I’m here about the missing guy. Bout this tall, blue shirt, taped up hands, loud mouth. You remember seeing him talk to anyone?” The man leaned back and rubbed at his eyes.

“Yeah, I seen him. Even served him a drink while he sat here by the bar for a bit with his friend.” Demo hadn’t mentioned that. With a quick jerk of his thumb behind him, Sniper drew the man's attention to Demoman.

“Is that the friend?” Looking after where he’d pointed, the bartender squinted and shook his head, turning back to the counter to take a drink of his water.

“No, the fella he was white and wasn’t much taller than him. Had both of ‘is eyes for sure.” Sniper went over this little bit of new information in his head, committing it to memory. He was fixing to ask for a more in depth description of the man before there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see Demoman, his face full of guilt.

“I remembered something about last night and the laddie,” Demo said, unusually quiet. “I heard him in the bathroom, arguing loud with someone. When ‘e came outta that bathroom e' looked madder than aye' ever seen em' and is' hand was bleeding, but e' didn't come back to sit with me.”

“That was when he came and ordered himself a drink up here, I believe,” the tired barman said, agreeing with Demo.

“Did either of you see who he was arguing with,” Sniper asked hopefully, his heart beating faster. Did someone get pissed off with Scout after he ran his mouth? It wouldn't be the first time someone wanted revenge because the kid couldn't keep his mouth shut. 

“I didn’t get a good look at the guy, he left out as soon as the fight was over looking worse than your boy. By this point your pal over there had drunk himself under the table,” the guy said, tilting his glass towards Demo, who looked down in shame.

“I guess that explains why it all blacks out after that.” Sniper grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it once in a comforting way before looking back to the bartender who finished his water and rubbed at his eyes.

“Well, you didn’t miss much, friend. The kid had one beer before he paid his bill and yours. After that he left all wobbly with the other guy, promising that they'd come back in for you in a minute. When neither of them came back in I thought maybe they'd just passed out or called you a cab.” Sniper knew Scout hadn’t planned on drinking at all so he’d stay sober enough to drive, but he also knew one beer wouldn’t make that little gremlin anything less than hyper. So why on earth had he been so wobbly leaving the bar? Was he injured in the bathroom? 

“This guy he was drinking with, you recognize him at all,” Sniper questioned, hoping that the guy he was with was some sort of regular, or at the very least not a first timer who kept to himself and didn't tell anybody his name.

“Yeah, I’d seen the both of them in here talking on a few occasions. We got security cameras in here, but they only watch behind the bar and the pool table, so I’m not sure that’d be of any use.” Sniper could only nod at that, and just before he could ask if he was sure Scout only had one beer he glanced up and seen Spy leaving the bathroom, making his way towards them with the same masked angry look on his face from before.

“Thanks for filling us in, mate. I’ll leave you be.” Spy reached them just as he and Demo stood, holding out his hand to show us a messy crumpled up roll of bloodied tape. Scout’s for sure, he always had his hands taped with that shit.

“I found zhis in zhe bathroom, on zhe floor. It would appear zhat someone was injured here and I don’t like zhe odds that is was Scout.” A swarm of different possibilities was rushing around Sniper's skull now, leaving his ears ringing as he tried to shut them out. Thinking about what could have happened was going to make him sick, but he needed to know if he wanted to find Scout. Even if he was hurt, Sniper couldn’t let himself get distracted by the desire to curl up and cry in defeat.

“This it taking too bloody long. It’s time to start tracking him the old fashion way,” he growled, leaving them to go step outside.

"We'll stay here," Spy called after the Aussie, him and Demo remaining in the bar to continue their search and question other bar patrons who may have been here last night. Outside he didn’t see any drag marks on the ground, or blood if Scout had been injured enough to impair his walking. He sighed, circling the bar to the back, just in case he was missing something painfully obvious. When Sniper came across a fresh set of tire marks and a splatter of blood on the dirt he stopped, crouching down for a closer look. The blood was dried now, but it looked recent enough to be from last night. Sniper looked over to the tire tracks, inspecting them carefully. They were deep set, wide, clearly from a heavier vehicle. There was nothing around for miles, no other buildings out here save for this little bar.

If Scout had come back here, even unwillingly, no one would have seen or heard him call for help. That would certainly give someone an advantage if they tried nabbing the little gremlin, but Scout was fast. If he left with someone barely bigger than himself, he’d have a decent chance of defending himself. Unless there was someone else out here waiting for them. Sniper glanced back to the bar, a pit forming in his stomach. If he got into an argument with someone and that someone was working with his drinking buddy, they could have worked together to take Scout down. It would have been a piece of cake. Lure the kid outside, take him around back because Scout never saw danger where he should, and jump him.

Sniper ran back around the bar and to the door, his heart beat crazy as fear settled in. There was little doubt now, Scout didn’t run off, he was taken by someone. He threw the door to the little bar open, startling the few people sitting inside. Spy and Demo turned their heads his way, both of them shocked but also hopeful that he’d found something that would point us in Scout’s direction. They weren't going to be happy.

“He was kidnapped! Scout was kidnapped!” The hopeful looks on their faces disappeared, replaced with looks of despair. Of course they already knew he didn’t just wander off at this point, but now Sniper was certain. Scout was really kidnapped!


	3. Searching The Base

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a glimpse at some of the other characters!

Scout couldn’t believe he had been teamed up with the scary-ass Blu Medic. They were tasked with searching every inch of the whole base, just in case his Blu counterpart was around here somewhere. The two of them had never got along well, especially in prolonged amounts of time together during ceasefires, and he was mostly ignored until  Scout suggested Medic wait while he ran the whole place to get a quicker look for the Blu Scout. This, Medic apparently thought, was a great idea, and had hurried Scout along. He could guess Medic was looking for a chance to get rid of him, even though they'd only just started searching together. To be completely honest, Scout didn’t blame him. The awkwardness was almost too much for even him as well, and Scout could handle a whole lotta awkward before he snapped. That came with growing up in a big household, he guessed. Having all those brothers was fun until they embarrassed you in front of every friend you ever brought home, he thought fondly.

“Scout? Have you found anyzhing, yet,” Medic called, stopping Scout as he ran by him. The dustbowl didn’t exactly offer too many hiding spots, and after his second time looking, he still hadn’t come up with anything to suggest the other Scout was here.

“I ain’t found nothing, what about you, doc?” After grumbling about grammar, he shook his head, taking his glasses off to clean the lenses. The heat was making him sweat, especially in that lab outfit.

“I haven’t found _anyzhing_ , either. At this point I should think it’s safe to say that Scout isn’t at the base,” he said sadly, the tone in his voice making Scout slightly uncomfortable. A thought had been bothering him ever since they’d started looking for Scout, one that he hoped didn’t make me some kind of whiny baby.

“It’s kinda crazy, isn’t it,” he announced, plopping down on the ground to rest up for a bit. Not surprisingly, Medic didn’t understand just what he was referring to.

“Vhat is so crazy? You mean Scout going missing?” He gestured around at the empty base, but Medic still didn’t get it.

“I mean all of it. Scout going missing, at a bar out of respawn bounds, and everyone dropping everything to look for him. Don’t get me wrong, I get that everyone’s worried, I am too, but I hadn’t realized so many of our teammates liked him that much. They all decided to stop everything and go look for him at a moment’s notice. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone who would do that for me like they did for him.” Medic, finally understanding what he was saying, sat down beside him.

“You have someone who vould do the same for you right here.” Scout choked, becoming a sputtering mess while Medic laughed. “Oh, stop being such a baby. Anyvay, Scout has many friends, on both teams, of course ve vould drop everything for him. I’m sure that is no surprise to you, seeing as the two of you play vith your little balls all the time,” the medic said, laughing as Scout's face heated up even more.

“What?! It’s called baseball! Don’t make it sound so-”

“Calm down, Herr Scout, I vas only joking.” While Scout remained too embarrassed to talk or even open his mouth, something that never happens, the medic suddenly clapped his hands together eagerly. “Magnificent!”

“What’s got you so happy, doc?” He glanced over to him to see Medic was staring at him with a look no one ever gave him before. Scout had to glance around just to make sure he was really looking at him. “Why you looking at me like that? Do I got something on mah face?”

“Shush, don't talk. You so rarely stop talking, I am simply taking the opportunity to appreciate that look on your face,” Medic said, a humorous glint in his eyes. Scout turned away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing those words hit him so hard.

“Fuck off, you psycho.” Deciding that he'd had enough, Scout got up, ready to run back to Miss Pauling and let her know that the Scout wasn’t here. Medic grabbed his hand, refusing to let him go anywhere.

“No, no, I did not mean offense, Scout. It’s just that vhen you are talking I am too distracted to really look at you. But vhen you stop, I am stunned with how much of you I don't usually notice. Your physique is fascinating, and I hardly get a chance to really appreciate it because you never just shut up and sit still. You also have lovely eyes, mein freund, and exquisite bone structure.” At this point Scout was more than painfully aware of the heat flushed across his face, urging him to face further from the medic so he didn’t tease him about it. Why was he so off his game, today? One guy pays him a compliment, or several, and suddenly he's blushing like some chick. Forcing himself to relax and take a deep breath, breathe out, and face Medic once more, Scout gathered up all his courage, which was quite a bit, while clinging to a tiny hope that maybe Medic was trying to say that he didn't dislike Scout; that he actually liked Scout a bit.

“Were you serious about that thing you said,” he asked, looking up from the ground and into Medic's eyes, wanting him to know Scout was being honest in asking.

“Vhich part? You really do have good bone structure-”

“No, not that! The part where you said you’d do the same for me as everyone’s doing for the other Scout. Did you mean that you’d really come looking for me?” This time it was Medic’s turn to get a little flustered. After clearing his throat and pretending to fix his lab coat to look more composed, he gave up and slumped over just like Scout had. The hand squeezing his softened a bit. With him distracted Scout could probably slip away if he wanted to. Thing is, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to anymore.

“I vas completely serious, Scout,” he said, not meeting his eyes as he stared off seeming to think over something. For just a moment Scout's heart started to beat faster than when he drank three whole Bonks! “You underestimate your worth if you think that I don’t care for you just as much as our own Scout. You are both important.”

“Oh.” That brief hope of his crumbled as he struggled to not let his smile fall. Even though it made him so happy to hear Medic cared for him, the fact that he thought of him the same way he thought of the other Scout kind of hurt. It was foolish for him to think he meant Scout was special or anything like that, that’d be lame. Just thinking it made him feel lame. Suddenly his hand was being pulled up, jerking Scout closer to the Medic.

“You look unhappy, Scout. Did you perhaps vant me to say I vas only kidding? Or were you expecting something else?” Now Scout really felt like a chick. Did he look like he was moping already? Of course Medic didn't mean anything by what he said earlier, Scout shouldn't have gotten his hopes up in the first place!

“I’m not unhappy at all, doc. Thanks for the talk, but we should go tell Miss Pauling that we ain’t found nothing.” If he liked Scout's quiet face so much Scout would just have to talk up a storm! Then maybe Medic would stop looking at him with those deceivingly caring and careful eyes of his. “Besides, I on’t wanna sit out here in this heat anymore. Did you know one time I was out in the heat so long that I almost had a heat stroke? That really sucked, cause we was way out in the middle of nowheres and I didn’t wanna run because, you know, too hot. So, anyway, I decided to try and catch a ride back to town but my eldest brother said that no one would pick up two guys like us, unless they were like creeps or-”

“Ugh, wunderbar, he’s talking again!” Medic released Scout's hand and followed him back to the Red base, all the while trying to shut him up with empty threats and shouting of his own. Most people didn’t realize that if they just talked back, Scout'd shut up and listen to them. Instead they tried to force silence, figuring the only way he’d stop talking is if he was too afraid to open his mouth, but he couldn’t do silence. A sudden pang of hurt had Scout quieting down just a little though, as he thought about the other Scout.

Was he somewhere silent right now, talking to empty air to keep the bad thoughts from collecting into an overbearing swarm? Or was he being tortured, his screams deafening him and his attacker to the point that he was going crazy? The two Scouts got along well, he could guess it was because they were so alike and could both hold a conversation, so Scout didn’t want to lose him. He also didn’t want him to be hurtin’ somewhere while they were wasting time in this dried up dustbowl base.

Scout's momentary silence did not go unnoticed by the medic, who took this as his opportunity to look him over once more, his eyes reverting back to that look of pure astonishment he had just earlier. When Scout noticed what he was doing, he immediately started rambling again, talking about anything and everything that popped up in his head, save for his worries about the other Scout and insecurities about his own worth. It wasn’t that he hated Medic thinking he looked good, Scout was the most handsome one on the team, but Scout felt like the way he was looking at him was new. Unknown. Uncharted territory and it was scary. He didn’t know how to react to someone thinking he was anything other than annoying. With a quick glance over to the doctor, Scout found that even with his inane talking the man was still looking at him with an intense look in his eyes, making Scout's face flush once more.

“Are you alright, Scout?” His voice was so low, so gentle. The voice of someone who was worried and there for ya. How many times had Scout's friends and brothers used that voice on me? He hated that he wanted to hear it again. Hear him ask one more time. Maybe he was a bit of a bad guy, liking someone feelin' worried about me, and that thought scared him.

“Who? Me? I’m fine, I’m always good!” He didn’t look at all convinced, but thankfully he didn’t get the chance to ask once more because they were nearing the Red’s fort and the distant sound of shouting distracted him. Just ahead they seen the Red team’s Demoman and the Blu soldier, both of who were exhausted and sweaty. While they had been searching inside the base, most of the teams left to search the surrounding dustbowl in case Scout was out there somewhere. He didn’t like to think of why the other Scout may be out there, but he understood why someone had to check. It’d be easy enough to drive out there and dump a body for the birds and wolves to pick at.

“We been out ere’ for hours and no sign of the lil’ laddie, yet,” Demo said, his heavily accented voice slurred. Unlike the Blu team’s demoman, he hadn't guilted himself into sobriety upon finding out that the other Scout was missing. Then again, unlike the other Demo, our’s hadn’t been drinking with Scout when he went missing.

“This nice drunken un-american man is correct! There is no sign of Scout in or around this wasteland! We have looked everywhere!” Scout had figured as much, but hearing them say so did little to calm his nerves. Luckily for him, Medic spoke up before he had to.

“Perhaps one of the other search teams has found something, right Scout?” Scout could only nod, his mouth too dry to say anything in reply. This whole day had been unusual and he hated it. Nobody ever had to speak for him, because he’d never been unable to speak up by himself. “Let’s go inform Miss Pauling that we’ve finished our search.”


	4. The Dark Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we get to see just how the missing Scout is doing. THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW Beware this chapter is very dark. Torture and hurt ahead, read at own risk!

There was nothing but darkness and a dull ache in Scout's head and arm when he woke up, making him groan in annoyance. There goes his whole day, then, he thought absently. Was he on the floor? He needed to get up and go run before breakfast or else he’d have’ta run after eating and that always blows. Taking a deep breath Scout sat up, rubbing at his eyes when they didn’t adjust to the room. As he looked around Scout realized it was dark, and for just a second his thoughts were too fuzzy to comprehend that.

“Is it still night out? Geez, I must have drank more than I thought last night to sleep through the whole day.” His voice echoed back at him. He felt around, looking for a wall to help himself up with. Where in the world was this? The floor was clean under his hands as he crawled around, or at least it felt clean, but it was colder than death. Gasping, Scout realized this wasn’t his room. A flood of memories regarding last night came back to him, and a chill set in Scout's body while he pulled his arms in, too afraid to touch anything in this unknown, foreign darkness. Somebody had caught him off guard when he was leaving the bar with his drinking buddy last night, just after some guy picked a fight with him in the bathroom and pushed him into a broken sink. He'd cut his leg and landed on his hand in real bad way... Scout had planned to just walk back to base after that, but his friend said he’d give him and Demo a ride back to base, cause Demo was too drunk to drive and Scout's hand was hurtin’ awful bad. Only problem was Demo was so drunk he couldn’t stand, so Scout went out to the car to wait for his friend. Only he never made it to no car, cause the second he came round the corner of the bar someone hit him hard over the head. Had someone grabbed Demo and his pal, too?

To Scout's right he heard a clang and some shuffling, nearly stopping his heart and causing him to yelp in a very girly manner. “Hello?!”

“Shhhh.” Fuck that. Nope. Scout is _not_ doing this. He ain't playing this game! He got up, running in a random direction until colliding with the first wall he met and feeling around for a door or window. His hand brushed against what felt like a light switch, but when he flicked it on nothing happened.  

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, not like this!” He kept feeling around, the sense that something was creeping up behind him getting worse with every passing second. Scout heard the squeak of a boot behind him and without even thinking whipped around and swung blindly, hitting something with all his strength. It felt like a person, or at least it fell back like one, and Scout screamed as he made contact with it. The sound bounced off the walls back at him, unbearably loud. As he backed away his back hit what felt like the corner of the room, so he curled up in a ball, facing this big, dark, empty room. At least nothing could creep up behind him. “Stay back, I’m warning you!”

“Keep trying to fly away and I’ll have to break your pretty wings, brat!” What the hell does that even mean? Scouts don’t got wings, pally! The sound of footsteps pacing around the room had him holding his breath. If Scout couldn’t see them then surely they couldn’t see him right? It was too dark in here for anyone to see anything!  The sound of something metal scraping against the hard concrete floor made him shield his ears, cringing. “Where’d you go, little birdy?”

“Back off if you know what’s good for ya, psycho!” Scout gasped, covering his mouth once more. He shouldn’t have said anything, shit! The steps stopped, and he felt a sickening dread as they picked back up, heading his way. Something about not seeing the threat coming made it a thousand times scarier.

“Hit me again and I’ll saw your hands off, brat.” Before Scout could kick or take a swing at the open air in front of him a pair of hands were on his arms, wrestling him down. Scout screamed and tried kicking out at them but all he could do was wiggle like a cocooned worm once they had him laying down and encased in sturdy arms. Even as he tried biting down on the nearest piece of em’ he only succeeded in getting a mouthful of shirt; Scout was defenseless and had run out of ideas. With them being so close his senses were in overdrive trying to figure the stranger out. He didn’t recognize the scent or sound of him, but they seemed to know Scout's weaknesses well enough to take him down so quick. Taking his arms out of the picture and staying out of the way of his legs.

“Get off! Get off me!” The arms caging him in made it hard to fight back as he was pulled off the floor and dragged, kicking and squirming, to be thrown back onto the floor further from the walls. While he caught his breath and sat back up something was shoved into his mouth and tied around the back of his head, despite his struggling to claw it away. Scout tried to get a hold of it and pull it off but as soon as it was tied, the hands caught him by the wrists, one of which was no longer taped, he realized in a somewhat distant manner, and brought them together as Scout pulled and tugged to free them. Why was he so weak against this person? Was it because he had been asleep on this hard ass floor? He'd definitely slept on worse, though. Could he have been drugged?

“That ought to shut you up. You just stay there for now, someone’ll be coming in soon for you. I’ll be back with a playmate, little bird,” the voice said calmly, before the sound of steps backed away. A dim sliver of light came into the room as a heavy door squeaked open, making Scout squint. It was closed before he could get a good look at the man who’d walked out it.

“Mmmmvmmm Mmmmmvmmmm!” Scout couldn’t get a single word out with the stupid rag in his mouth, leaving him with nothing to do but sit and collect his thoughts. Unfortunately, all his thoughts made him more afraid by the second as he pondered over what might happen the next time that door opened.

Despite trying his hardest to keep it from happening, tears started rolling down his face, absorbing into the rag stuffed into his mouth. He sat powerless in the darkness. Suddenly he understood why that freak was calling him a bird now, as it felt like he was in a cage with his wings tied down. He couldn’t speak, couldn't stretch his arms out with them bound tight against his chest, and as he tried standing up he found it just made him feel more afraid of the pitch black room. The fear tore him down and he collapsed to the floor, knees banging hard against the cold concrete but he didn’t even care about the jolt of pain through them. He was too focused on the stampede in his brain, stomping out all the hope of leaving this place unharmed.

Would he even get out of this alive? Would he get out at all? Surely Sniper worried about him somewhere, sitting in his camper getting ready for today’s match? Or was today’s match already over and he was beginning to wonder where Scout had been during it? Did Demo tell them they were out drinking last night, or was he passed out in that little bar still, too hungover to remember Scout's or his own name? Slinking down to lay against the cold floor, Scout shut his eyes tight and curled into a ball, arms aching already as they jabbed further into his chest. Despite knowing it was foolish, he found himself hoping that maybe even his dad was out there, looking for him as he cried in this dark, tormenting room. He was always being nosy and tracking Scout down, surely by now he was trying to find him, even just if he thought Scout was out hiding from everyone and everything.

 _Please, someone come and get me_ , he demanded to nothing but the silence around him. _I won’t bother no one no more if you guys save me, I swear._ Wishful thinking was the only thing he had right now, as he couldn’t talk himself away from insanity in the growing silence of this place. It was likely that no one had really noticed he was gone yet, what with him always running around, getting in trouble. Everyone else had routines that involved speaking to each other at the base, but Scout's only real routine was running to Sniper’s little camper and spending hours nuzzled up against the lanky man, listening to his stories about the exciting life he had back in his home country. If someone was going to know something was wrong, it would definitely be Sniper or Spy. They’d both save him, he could feel it. They had to.

* * *

There was nothing other than the sound of his heartbeat to keep Scout distracted in the dark room. Not once had that door opened since the guy left out it and he was getting anxious. The feeling in his gut was similar to that one you get at the doctor’s office when you’re sitting there, waiting for the door to open and have to get stupid tests done. Except he knew when the door opened, something far worse than flu shots or health check-ups would happen. This could be life or death. 

Scout didn’t know how long he waited, dreading what was to come, but eventually a loud clank had him struggled to sit up, worried about what could happen if he was caught off guard. The door opened, letting in a stream of light that fell on his legs in a very dramatic way that surely someone had planned. It stretched out in front of him now, revealing very little of his surroundings. A shorter figure came through the door, their face hidden in the darkness. A sudden electric buzz had him shielding his face as a dim green light flooded the room, showing it to be much smaller than he had thought when trying to find the walls. Scout was suddenly wrenched from his spot on the floor before his eyes could even adjust to the new light. His arms barely cushioned him as he was thrown against the wall, face smacking into it hard. While he was still recovering he was unable to defend against the sudden blow to his lower backside, sending pain through his whole body. To his left was an old metal bed frame and sitting on it was a tattered mattress. As dirty as it looked, Scout wished he’d known it was there so he hadn’t been waiting on the floor for so long. Snapping out of it as a hand twisted in his hair, Scout shut his eyes tightly and braced himself.

“Did you miss me?” That voice had him quaking all over. It sounded an awful lot like-

“Reggie,” he tried to say around the rag in his mouth. Even if he could talk his voice was likely hoarse from being in this frigid room and would likely be very quiet. At that moment Scout wished the lights would go back out. He didn’t want to see him, to know he was right and this was his only real friend off-base. But, it sounded just like him…

“My friend is off collecting a little friend for ya. I think we should get you ready to see him.” With that, Scout was grabbed by the shirt, dragged off the wall, and thrown forward. In front of him was a chair that he nearly toppled over. Using just his upper body to lean over it was the only thing that kept him from hitting the floor head first. As quickly as he could he looked back, needing to erase the worry that Reggie was really doing this to him. When his eyes met familiar green ones, for a split second he couldn't really think, too shocked to process it. Reggie grabbed his shoulder, knocking him down into the chair and removing the rag from his mouth and letting the ties fall.

“Reggie-” Scout was cut off as he got smacked right in the mouth, causing his head to turn violently to the right a bit. he strained against what he could now see as duct tape keeping his arms folded to his chest.

“That ain’t my real name, _Scout_ ,” the man sneered, his eyes full of venom. All the friendliness and kindness Scout had grown accustomed to in those eyes was gone, making them appear unfamiliar, or like that of a stranger’s really, as they _were_ familiar, but not in the way they should be. “Now, who do you think will be joining our little party?”

“Please, Reggie, please, just let me go! I won’t say nothin, I promise! I’m sorry if I did something to make you mad, you know I sometimes run my mouth without thinking, but I won’t do that no more, I swear, just let-”

“Shut up! Stupid little,” He was standing at Scout's side now, pulling out a thin knife from his pocket. Scout tried to stand from the chair and get away but he was caught by shoulder. He stared in horror as Reggie began to cut through the duct tape. When they were cut away from my chest he let them fall into Scout's lap, numb and useless. They were still taped together, but he was relieved to have even just a little more freedom to lift them. Slowly, blood started returning to them.

That freedom was short lived as Reggie grabbed the tape and stabbed the knife between his arms, nicking one of them with the blade as he cut the rest of the tape off as though tearing through a package or gutting a fish. Scout winced, grabbing at the cut when the tape was ripped clean off. This better be the part where Reggie says he’ll distract the kidnappers while Scout makes a run for it. When he looked up to see his friend turned tormentor holding a new roll of duct tape he knew that wasn’t going to be the case. Before really taking the time to think up a plan, Scout kicked his legs out, hitting Reggie in the abdomen and knocking him on his back. Looking around the room in the hopes of finding something to defend himself with, Scout realized the door was his only option as he shot out of the chair, stumbling towards it on weak legs. His hands were free, if he could get to it and get out it then maybe-

“ARGH!” Reggie had recovered quickly, sinking his nails into Scout shoulder and kneeing him in the gut. His legs collapsed beneath him, leaving Scout hanging in Reggie’s arms, vulnerable to anything. 

“I was going to go easy on you, brat, but now I think I’ll take my time carving you to bits. Maybe I'll snap your Achilles tendon and watch you scream and whine!” He dragged Scout back to the chair, tossing him into it like a rag doll. That's about when Scout really came to terms with what was about to happen. Even if anyone knew he was missing, even if they knew hours ago, they wouldn't get here in time to save him before that knife found it's way into his flesh. 

* * *

"Please," Scout whispered, his voice breaking. There wasn't a spot on his body that didn't hurt, and yet Reggie continued to find new ways to make him scream. He cried out as Reggie grabbed his arm, rubbing what felt like salt into the fresh wound he'd just made. The sting was almost worse than that of the blade. Scout's whole body was shaking as he stopped, violent tremors that seemed to be keeping him from falling over. The knife he'd left buried in the runner's shoulder after leaving the long gash on his arm was a constant reminder that he couldn't move or things would get a lot worse. When he reached for the handle of the blade Scout desperately tried to lean away, shaking his head and pleading with his torturer. Rather than listen, Reggie just backhanded him and ripped the blade free. It seemed like Scout was seeing white light for a few seconds, the pain like exploding stars and. 

"I think we're done here for now," he said smugly, grabbing Scout's shirt and lifting him out of the chair. "Why don't you take a little rest, I got a surprise for you soon." Letting go of his shirt and watching Scout crumple to the floor like a puppet who's strings had been cut, Reggie seemed very proud of himself. When he left he didn't turn the lights out, allowing Scout to see as he pulled the heavy door open, slamming it shut behind him. The sound of the lock falling into place echoed through the room, but Scout was in too much pain to even notice. With Reggie gone, he let himself succumbed to sleep.


	5. Sentimental Bull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Might be considered smut!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that last one got a bit, or a lot, heavy. So lets take a chapter to lighten up a bit, because I promise things are gonna get bumpy soon. THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED!!!

My little boy. My only son, or child at all, and he was nowhere to be found even after searching that filthy bar top to bottom. My hands were shaking as I tried to light a cigarette, forcing me to give up and just let it hang from my lips lifelessly. I hadn’t had one in hours, and it was taking its toll on me. We were on our way back to the base after calling Miss Pauling to get someone to come look at the tire tracks and determine what kind of vehicle they belonged to. Within the hour a team of people were there, analyzing the scene and telling us to head back to regroup with Red and Blu at the base. There was no talking between the three of us as we rode, but I knew we were all thinking about the same thing, or at least the filthy Bushman beside me was. We were wasting time we didn’t have. For a solid fifteen minutes after discovering the tracks and blood splatter, Sniper had kept repeating over and over that we’d find him, that we’d get him back, but now he was just staring ahead at the road, too stressed to say a thing.

“I should have kept him far away from this place,” I said, earning a quick look from Sniper. I was not often this honest and open about the fact that Scout was my son or that I cared for him. “I should have sent him straight back to his mother when I found out he was working as a mercenary.”

“You know he would never listen to you, mate. You could threaten him all you like and he’d still want to be here,” the Australian said, a rare moment of clarity on his part. I suppose as a parent, it is comforting to know that he understands my son.

"Even so, I could have tried. This whole thing could have been avoided if I'd been there for him to guide him. If I'd kept him away from this life, or if I'd acted like a man instead of a coward all those years ago, maybe he'd be somewhere better right now." Sniper shook his head, slowing down to look over at me.

"Did he ever tell you about the time he and I found a dying owl on the side of the road?" I shook my head, earning a chuckle from the Aussie beside me as he looked back to the road. "Found may not be the right word. It was about ten months ago and we were out driving late at night, heading out to get a look at the stars. After deciding it was probably time to head home, I decided to let Scout drive the camper; wasn't exactly any traffic so I knew we'd be okay. He was doing good, keeping it steadier than I thought he would, when out of nowhere this right massive owl swoops down in front of the vehicle and scares the piss out him and me both. Scout's never been in that kind of situation before so his first thought was to slam on the breaks, nearly crashed us but he managed to straighten it out well enough. We got out to check the damage and found the poor thing back a ways, twitching around on the ground." 

"So, Scout killed an owl," I asked, wrinkling my nose at the thought of him driving this monstrous vehicle with no practice. I would have to have a word with him about that. It was bad enough he had no license, but driving so late at night and in _this thing_ was just irresponsible.

"Wasn't dead yet. Took one look at him and Scout said we had to take him back with us for Medic to fix up. I tried to tell him it was already a goner but he just put his foot down and said we had to, like it wasn't up for debate. So I scooped up the poor bastard and put him in the camper, in the back mind you, and we hurried back to the base to try and save this horribly mangled bird. I was absolutely sure that the useless thing would be dead by the time we got it to Medic, but sure enough he was still clinging to life. Medic, being the bird lover he is, agreed to save it, although he wasn't too happy about being woken up. The look on his face when I came bursting in with a mostly dead owl and enemy Scout was downright priceless, though. Scout didn't even give me a chance to explain, just shoved the bird in Medic's face and said 'save him' in this little demanding voice that wouldn't scare a bunny." I'd become so lost in the story that I hadn't realized the look on Sniper's face while he told it. Something like serenity or maybe just fondness danced across his face while his eyes nearly drifted shut behind the sunglasses before he opened them and focused ahead on the road, snapping out of the trance.

"Zhe bird... died, zhen?" He laughed, shaking his head. 

"No! The stubborn thing lived, actually! Almost like it knew how brokenhearted Scout would be if it didn't. His wings healed up just fine and Scout and I drove back out there a few weeks later to let him go. Even gave him a nickname while he was with us. I've had a certain appreciation for owls ever since. Point is, I'd given up on the owl the second we'd hit it and I told Scout to do the same, but he outright refused to listen to me. Said if I didn't help him save it, then he was just going to walk back carrying it and I could go fuck myself." Despite my persistent worry about Scout, I found myself laughing as well.

“He does have a problem listening, no?” For just one split second, I felt better talking about him as though he wasn’t possibly gone. No! He was still alive, I was sure of it.

"Yeah, well I'd rather have him learn his lesson one of these days than spend a whole month in the doghouse because I didn't trust him." The fact that Scout sounded just like his mother shocked me, pleasantly. At least he knew to stand up for himself and hold his ground. How many times had I chosen to completely blindly trust Laine despite most of my being telling me to do otherwise just to have her be right in the end? The two of them had the devil's luck and it fascinated me to no end.

"What did you name zhe owl," I asked, trying to shift my thoughts off of Scout's mother and what I'd have to tell her if we didn't find her son. Or worse, if we didn't find him how we wanted to. Sniper straightened up a bit, getting more serious.

"Well, _ahem_ , _Scout_ named him actually. I had nothing to do with that." No doubt he'd named it something vulgar, to have Sniper looking so uncomfortable all of a sudden. "You see, the thing took a liking to him and whenever he'd come by it would sit and stare at him, always watching his every move. Sometimes it'd even sneak up on him and randomly peck at him, trying to get a pet or two. Scout said that the way it acted around him reminded him of you, so he took to calling it Mini Spy. Got real attached, I think." Astonished, I looked over at him. He looked completely serious. I wonder where  _Mini_ _Spy_  was now. Pushing the thought out of mind, I changed the topic a bit.

"So do you mean to say with this story that allowing Scout to have come here will work out, just like it did with the owl?" Sniper laughed at that, shaking his head. 

“Actually, I just meant that the spastic little gremlin would sooner tire you out than let you win an argument. Makes loving him that much more interesting, if you ask me.” The tone in the bushman’s voice had gotten dangerously enduring, and I had to resist the urge to stab him while he was driving or reach over and strangle him with my tie. Perhaps the lack of cigarettes was starting to make me grouchy, so I would cut him some slack for now, especially after he just gave me that little story about Scout. 

“Do not start talking about your filthy endeavors with my son, mon ami, less you wish to wake up to that camper of yours rolling off a cliff with you still inside of it.” Sniper cleared his throat, focusing back on the road. Perhaps it was easy for him to forget that Scout was my son, with us being worlds apart in regards to personality. He certainly had nothing in common with me, though I remember when he use to try and copy my french when he was a mere bébé. I’d been so proud of him when he reached up and bonked me on the nose, babbling away words he didn’t even understand and yet meant the world to me. Of course, he repeated lots of noises and words he heard us say, it’s what they did at that age, but I was still touched that he was making an effort.

From the time I found out Laine was pregnant I already loved the boy, though I was so sure he would be a girl. I only got to spend a short time with him when he was a child, the best few months of my life, not seeing him again until well into his teens and under the guise of his mother’s new lover, not his father. That had been an awkward conversation I’d saved for when I found out the boy joined the Blu mercenary group after me. Even in my mind, I had a hard time seeing him as anything other than that little bébé I once held in my arms every night, gently rocking to sleep, which made our job and accepting his relationship with this filthy jarman near impossible at times.

I wish I knew even more about my son now, though, and I really was grateful that Sniper provided me with that. Children so naturally want to hide things from their parents as they grow older and the steady flow of information from Laine dwindled over the years, but Sniper he desired to tell everything it seemed, and I often managed to weasel certain things Scout normally wouldn't tell me out of the Australian. Never anything private, I knew my boundaries, but it was comforting to know that my son took a liking to purple sunsets and the color green, as well as his unnatural admiration to all things fried. Things like an appreciation for art and reading weren't expected, but I took pride in knowing that my boy read at all. Not just his comic books either, he often times would read books his mother recommended, a fact I hadn't learned until recently.

At what point, though, did I start to know my son better than his mother knew him, I wonder? Was it when he confided in me in the years he thought I was a mere stranger who was dating his mother? Perhaps I noticed it for the first time when he came to me with tears in his eyes the first time he fought with the Aussie and didn't know what to do to fix it. Despite the fact that I was appalled with his crying, I very much wanted to stab a teammate that day. Scout felt he couldn't go to his mother for advice without explaining the fight, which I learned was something trite in nature. Or it was to me, anyway, but it meant the world to him so I did my best to help. That incident and his relationship were still secret to his family, something I understood the reasons for all too well, but knew he'd regret one day when the time to introduce them came. That would only be more awkward when Laine found out he'd been with this man for some time now. Still though, he told me, and not her, meaning that there were some things that I could be more trusted with than the only woman he's ever truly loved.

The fact that our bond had grown to such an extent that he came to me first when he was in pain filled me with pride and I knew he trusted me as much as I trusted him at this point. We were on the way to being a family again as that bond continued to solidify. 

“You know, that ankle biter is lucky to have you, Spook,” Sniper said, pulling me easily out of nostalgic thoughts. Glancing at him sideways I realized he was trying to ease the tension that hard formed between us. Demo, who'd been asleep on the other side of me, had woken up and noticed it as well.

“He would have been luckier with a father who did not vanish so often and hurt him, I should think.” That being said, Scout always did get a kick out of me cloaking and uncloaking. But I wasn’t invisible for seventeen years of his life, I was simply absent. Had these past few years made up for that? Could they even come close to setting things right?

“You didn’t exactly have a choice, leaving him and that mum of his. It wasn’t safe stickin with them, you did the only thing you could.” True. Very true. And yet, the guilt and shame of my actions was haunting, even to this day.

“I still have a lot of catching up to do with him. There is so much I need to say to him that I didn’t get to say. Nearly eighteen years of his life I wasn’t there, and now…” Though I didn’t say it, I seen Sniper flinch. The mere thought was too painful to think of, let alone speak of. Speaking of it made it real, and if it was real I would begin to fall apart and become useless in our search for the boy.

“You’ll make it up to him, Spook. Soon as we find ‘im, you’ll get your chance.”

* * *

I don’t know if that was true, but I felt like Spy needed to hear it. Truth be told, my mind was swamped with thoughts of Scout right now, drowning me in the memory of his laugh, his voice, his smile. The memory of the first night he ever spent with me was so vivid it could have happened just yesterday. That day was committed into my brain more than any rule I’d ever been taught, thanks to how often I went to sleep thinking about it. Despite not wanting to be distracted from finding Scout, I let myself relive some of those moments as I drove in silence, paying little attention to the empty road ahead of me. That is, until Demo shouted something unintelligible and loud, causing me to focus back in on the road. Before I could hit the breaks, we were slamming into a car parked across the dirt road, causing my camper to skid to a halt and all three of us to be thrown forward and slammed back in one quick motion. My head smacked hard against the back wall of my front cab, knocking my lights out faster than any of Demo’s scrumpy ever could. Even as I zonked out, I was thinking about that night with Scout.

* * *

We had just switched to the dustbowl base two weeks ago, most of us already knowing what to expect, but a few of us weren't quite use to the unbearable heat. The Blu Scout had started hanging out in my nest after matches to enjoy the shade and lack of other people, or sometimes just to talk to me. Of course, we haven’t really gotten around to giving a name to the little dance we’ve been playing around each other. We weren’t lovers, not yet, but we also weren’t exactly walking the friend line with the occasional kisses and longing stares we gave each other. Seeing as how Scout wasn’t going to, I planned on taking matters into my own hands and seeing if he was interested in going further. Fate had different plans than me today, it seemed, as the match was over and Scout came up to my nest, his shirt soaked with sweat and a look on his face I had come to recognize as him wanting something. So, he came in, sat down by me, and we were both quiet. It took the little gremlin all of about five minutes to say anything, waiting until the second he couldn’t take silence anymore and finally worked up the courage to lay his heart bare.

“I really like you, and I want to do more than kiss you,” he blurted out, standing up as though he were ready to throw himself out the window before I could answer. Without a second thought I grabbed his hand and pulled him down into my lap, glad that he finally admitted it to himself and me. I kissed him, sliding my hands under his shirt and silently thanking whatever god there was that things were going so well. There was barely a chance for me to tell him I wanted more, too, before he was throwing his shirt off. The heat was awful, even more so with the twitchy hooligan straddling me, making things sweaty and slick between us. Despite the worry nagging me that anyone could come up here and see us doing this, I let it keep going, let my fingers roam over his exposed skin. When his hands on my chest slid down to my buckle, I took it as meaning he was serious and silently yelled for joy.

We couldn’t go all the way, not up here and without proper protection, so after getting each other off, we both decided to go to my camper, not wanting to end it just yet. It was dusk, the sun was finally starting to go down, the air had a chill to it, and yet Scout’s body pressed against mine set a fire inside me, one not even Pyro could extinguish. Keeping up with the rushed Scout was made easy due to my long legs, but calming him down while I struggled to unlock my door was a pain.

"Come on, Snipe, hurry up," he whined, one hand slipping down the front of my shirt and another one up it to caress me while I fiddled with the keys.

“Just give me one second, you mongrel,” I said darkly, looping an arm around the runner while my other hand opened my door.

Upon entering my camper Scout began wildly throwing his clothes off, barely stopping to untie his shoes and kick them away in order to tug his pants down. Both of us were in a hurry, it seemed, as I didn't even remember putting my gun up before I was naked and pinning him to my couch.

"Tell me what you want," I whispered between kissed, lips tingling but mind buzzing.

The rest of that night Scout spent in my bed, both of us only getting a few hours of sleep before morning came the next day. Neither of us minded too much when we woke up still dead tired, because it was just as worth it to see each other upon waking. My bed faintly smelled like Scout when I rolled over and stuffed my face into my pillow, making me grin like a fool every morning for at least a week after the incident.

* * *

It's really a boy, I thought to myself as I looked down at the two day old newborn in my arms. After months of being so cocky and swearing it'd be a girl, Laine had won the bet, and we had a beautiful healthy little boy. He was asleep, his hands curled up in front of him as though he wanted to hold something or touch something. I gently sat down next to Laine, who was fast asleep in the hospital bed, and just stared at the bébé. So vulnerable to the world, so innocent and small and new. He knew nothing of pain, or heartache, or fear, or suffering. My rational side told me that at some point everyone had to learn that bad things happen, but my newly discovered father mind was telling me I had to protect him, at all costs from everything that might seek to harm him. The rational side was currently losing. It'd been a good half hour since the boy had fallen asleep and I still couldn't bring myself to set him down.

 _This will be my life now_ , I thought to myself. No more killing, unless prompted or otherwise necessary, no more moving from place to place with no real home, no more leaving at a moment's notice every time the phone rang, and no more being alone. From now on, I had a family. A beautiful fiance, a precious son, both of whom already meant everything to me.

"No one will ever hurt you, Jeremy, I promise," I whispered, quietly so as not to wake Laine or our newborn son. This was all new to me, and I didn't know the first thing about fatherhood, but I knew for a fact that I would keep him far away from my past. We would be leaving the hospital tomorrow, and going to our Boston home. The city was a crude place to raise a child of mine, but it was home for Laine and her other sons, so it can be my home as well. As long as I have the two of them, I don't plan on going anywhere. Nothing was going to scare me off.

Or so I thought.

My usual Saturday afternoon usually consisted of my waking up after a nap, taking my family somewhere special, and relaxing. Today went a little different from my usual. I woke up to the sound of screams, Laine for sure, and bolted out of bed and down the hall without a single clear conscious second thought. She was standing at the door to our son's nursery, her hands tangled in her hair with a look of daunting fear on her face. Not wasting a single second I'd ran into the room, finding two masked men standing too close for comfort to Jeremy's crib, pausing at the interruption. The first one was easy to take down, he was still surprised by Laine's intrusion so I made quick work of snapping his neck.

The second one I had to be more careful about, slipping between him and Jeremy before pouncing on the man, struggling to bring him down. We crashed into the wall, my hold on him nearly slipping. I spun him around, kicking him back against the tall shelf and watching as it crashed down on him. From the door I heard Laine call out and looked up in time to see my old butterfly knife being tossed my way. I caught it and flipped it open while before kneeling down and grabbing the man by his head, stabbing it into his jugular. I dropped him on top of the other man, running to Jeremy's crib while Laine took a few shaky steps into the room. Jeremy had woken up and was wide eyed, looking around for the source of the commotion. Tossing my knife on the floor I reached down and picked him up, turning to carry him to Laine who reached for us both, slipping to the floor. She began to sob, her hands grasping at my jacket for support.

"I'm so sorry, my love! I'm so sorry this happened! I thought I was being careful, I never thought they would go this far!" The two deceased men laying face down in my son's nursery would have to be dealt with soon, and the carpeting would need to be redone, but for now I held my concerned fiance, letting her cry as she worked out the panic that had yet to pass. Between us I held my eight month old son close, feeling him grasping at my jacket to try and copy his mother. He had my index finger grasped tightly in one of his little hands, oblivious to what had occurred moments before and curious as to why we were huddled on the floor now. I'm glad he didn't understand what was happening. 

"They could have hurt him, Rene! They were in his room, and they could have hurt him! What if they took?! _What could we have done_?!" I shared in her fear. They never should have made it into our apartment, let alone into Jeremy's nursery. At this point, I was endangering them both by staying here. I had to leave, they would have to move, we couldn't come in contact with each other. I'd have to... sever all ties with my family if I wanted them to be truly safe. 

"I know, Laine. This is... I think it's time. I need to pack my things."

 


	6. Back to The Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it's getting dark again. Sorry everyone, but this story's happy ending is more chapters to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !Trigger Warning! Non-con/rape assault in this chapter, as well as more torture. It doesn't get graphic, and cuts out, but to skip past it to when it actually ends go down to the SECOND line break. THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED!!!

[The Dark room](http://fav.me/dd88cm2) is a little something I made to advertise my story and also just because I wanted to provide a better visual for this chapter! Beware, it's gory and sad(and also just a little dark cause my editing is meh)

* * *

Despite the coldness of the room and the dull aching in my body from the beating I took, I had dozed off for what felt like a while. Reggie was still gone, having not returned to shut the lights off. Struggling to stand up I looked around frantically for something to use as a weapon, knowing that this would likely be my only window of opportunity to search. The room was empty save for the tall wooden chair, the bed, and an empty shelf nailed to the wall. My blood smeared across the floor in a morbid way that made my guts churn. Was all of that even mine? 

Luckily my stomach was well and truly empty or I'd have lost it's contents by now. Looking away from the floor I seen the door was across the room from the bed, standing tall and sending a shiver down my spine. Ignoring the pain as I took my first step, wincing and almost dropping to the floor at the icy feeling in my feet. This must be what it feels like to have bones made of ice, I thought to myself in hazy moment of confusion. Just barely I managed to stay standing and wobble towards the door, though, the ache from my wounds making it difficult to even press down. I had took a few pretty hard blows to my back, not to mention the bruises that would be forming on my ribs soon and the many lacerations left behind by that menacing knife Reggie wielded.

My legs hurt to the point of numbness, but they were strong, so I could still use them if I could get through that door. However, one of my hands was injured still from the bar, and the other felt weak from being bound so long. If I ran into trouble right now that'd be it for me. Reaching the door and grabbing for the handle I found myself swearing to god that it better be open. It wasn’t. I pulled and pushed, even going so far as to try kicking it down. Deciding to stop before I wore myself down, I looked around once more, desperate for an escape. 

Anything and everything that I could have used to fight was gone, including the belt of my pants and my shoes. Even if I was no longer tied up, there were at least two of them and only one of me. With those odds I didn’t stand a chance. What if they come in here every day and do that all over again? Sink that blade into my skin and laugh as they tear it back out, never too deep but with the intention hurting me bad nonetheless. What if they come in here again today?! My shirt was disgusting from sweat and blood and grime, but as I started tearing up I used it to wipe the tears away. If my dad could see me now, what would he say? Knowing Spy, probably that he was ashamed of me for crying over this. I was a man, why couldn’t I act like one? Sure I took a beating, and I felt like a pincushion, but he'd been through worse and come out fine! I had to take after him and not let this break me. If I let the pain take over, I'd lose and they'd win. There was no way in hell I was letting them win!

While I was busy falling apart at the seams, a loud clank on the other side of the door went unnoticed, until the door was swinging open and nearly hitting me. Towering over me was an hooded figure with a familiar red suited man hanging over their shoulder. Oh no! Was that Spy?!

“Well, well, look who’s up. Did you sleep good, birdy?” the tall figure said in a gruff voice, pushing me back into the room as they let the door shut behind them. I stepped back, too afraid to try and run around him, and even if I did, I couldn’t leave without my dad. The door opened again, making me grimace. I could have maybe fought back against the tall guy if he was distracted, but as Reggie came into the room I knew things were about to get even worse.

"You grabbed the wrong guy, idiot! I wanted the lover, these two may not even know each other!" I quickly glanced around, seeing Spy without his mask sitting in the chair. He was breathing, but had a decent sized bruise on his forehead. At least they hadn’t just dropped him on the floor like they’d done to me.

"No, they know each other, just look at him, he can't take his eyes off the freak." I contemplated calling out to see if he was okay, but stopped myself as my captor started moving towards me. The unknown man stopped, looking back at Spy while Reggie advanced on me. This time I wasn’t going to let him get anywhere near me, though. As I ducked around him and delivered a swift kick to his back, Reggie stumbled forward, cursing. I whipped around just in time to dodge the tall man’s hands as they tried to catch me. It was difficult to move quickly with everything stinging, but I had to try twice as hard now. If they managed to pin me down, Spy might get hurt. Hands came around me from behind, quicker than I anticipated, and I elbowed Reggie hard, loosening his grip on me.

“Just grab the little fucker,” he yelled at the other man, making me spin around. I was caged in, one of them on either side of me. If I tried ducking around the taller one I’d be trapped in a corner. Wasn’t I already trapped in a corner? My only option was fight tooth and nail until they took me down.

“If you stop fighting now, birdy, we’ll leave your friend over there alone.” Immediately I stopped resisting, letting myself get caught from behind by Reggie. If it kept dad safe, I’d do anything. My captors dragged me further from Spy, the taller one leaving to secure him in the chair. When I noticed that Reggie was dragging me back to the bed I panicked, forgetting for a moment that I needed to remain calm, for my father’s sake if not my own. I couldn't go through the pain of his torture again. I was still hurting from before, some of the wounds still bleeding. As I was slammed against the hard mattress I did my best to think of some way to signal to Spy to get out of here when he had the chance. This may be my end, but it didn't have to be his. 

“Let me go! Spy! Spy!” The man didn’t so much as stir, making me more than a little worried. I contemplated calling him dad, but I wasn’t sure if these two knew he was related to me, and I didn’t wanna do them any favors by letting them know. Reggie was able to hold me down long enough to tape my wrists together before doing the same to my ankles. This made it a lot harder to fight back, even against just one person, as my legs were the only thing not sore as hell from Reggie's little torture session. I watched as the hooded man taped both of Spy’s hands to the chair armrests, hoping to hell that Spy was strong enough to break out of it when he woke up because I wasn't going anywhere like this. However, as more and more tape was used, I started to lose hope. Even his legs were bound to the chair by the time the hooded man was done.

“That should hold him. Now, what say we get on with this?” Walking towards me threateningly, the man tilted his head back, exposing just a little of his face. A chill wracked my body as I seen he was smiling. Reggie held me still as the sadistic creep took the discarded knife off the bed and starting to cut through the thick fabric of my shirt. So much for putting it back on. I kicked out at him with my bound up legs, missing entirely.

Of course Spy chose then to wake up, his pained groan heard easily from where I was laying. While he took his time to catch his bearings, I realized that Reggie was holding the rag once more and yelled as loud as I could one last time before it was stuffed in my mouth and tied around the back of my head. That really got my dad’s attention as his head shot up to see what was happening, immediately alert from years of training himself to be aware of everything going on around him at all times. His eyes found me quickly, as though guided by some beacon. If you could imagine what someone’s face looked like when they realized their worst nightmare had just come true, that’s what Spy looked like in that moment. The fact that his mask was gone helped paint a visual as I could actually see all of his face as it twisted up in a mixture between horror and anger, eyes wide and lips drawn back in a feral snarl.

“Get your filthy hands off my son,” he roared, attempting to lurch forward but being stopped by his restraints. Well, now they know we’re related for sure, I thought meekly. However, when the two seen him awake and kicking, Reggie smiled a terrifying toothy smile and the hooded man nodded at him.

“Son? So this is the dear old dad you've told me about,” Reggie asked me, grabbing my face and turning it so I was facing Spy. Our eyes met, and mine began to fill with tears as something sharp ran across my exposed chest, leaving a long bloody gash. I shut my eyes tight and tried to scream but it was no more than a muffled cry around the gag. There was no give as I tried yanking away from the hand.

“Stop! Stop that! Get away from him!” Spy was fighting so hard against his restraints I hoped the chair would break under the pressure. However, it seemed sturdy even as he tried rocking it back to break it against the floor. Whatever they used to nail it down was unyielding, unlike me when the knife was stabbed deep into my leg, eliciting a sharp muffled cry from my throat as I thrashed around. “S’eloigner de lui!”

“He sure sounds angry, doesn’t he,” Reggie whispered, leaving the knife sticking into my leg and instead choosing to grab me by my hair and sit me up enough to see Spy clearly. Or rather, enough for Spy to see me clearly. Why was this happening? What could they possibly get from this torture? Sure, Spy was spitting mad and there were apparently loads of people out there who would like to see him suffer, but I think there were even more people who’d rather just see him dead. Unless they weren’t doing this because of my dad’s past and were just sadists. Considering they hadn't known our relation and seeing the look on Reggie’s face when he grabbed the knife and ripped it from my flesh kinda made me feel like it was the latter. The pain was unbearable, yet even as I prayed I’d pass out I remained conscious, biting my tongue on accident and tasting the familiar coppery taste that bled out of it. All the years my mother dragged me to church clearly didn't pay off as I pleaded with God to send some sort of savior for us, but I suppose that was my fault for never really believing in him. 

Spy looked closer to tiring out then me as he thrashed around in the chair, his eyes like that of a wild animal’s and his teeth clenched as he snarled at the men, some of his spit flying at them in his fitful state. With my leg now bleeding as well, I wondered if blood loss would end my suffering, or at least lessen it by dragging me into unconsciousness. Then again, what if the second I break down, they start torturing my dad? With a newfound strength, I yelled around the rag in my mouth at Reggie, calling him a few choice words just to get my own heart racing. Despite being certain he had no clue what I was actually saying, the tone of my voice made him pause. The hooded man, who until this point had started watching from the sidelines, moved in front of me, blocking my view from Spy as he reached down and pulled the gag away from my mouth. A trail of drool and blood fell from my lips, but I ignored it to take a moment to rest my jaw.

“Did you want to say something, little bird?” I looked up at the tall man, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood. Rather than say a word I cleared my throat and, with as much force as I could muster, spit on him. The bloody ball of slime hit him right in the face. For about half a second I enjoyed my own show of strength, a grin tugging at my lips until a fist connected with my face, knocking me flat on my back. Reggie’s hands were on my throat faster than the blink of an eye, not pressing down hard enough to completely cut off my air way but enough to make me lightheaded. “That’s enough. We don’t want him passing out on us.”

“We can wake him back up if he does,” Reggie said, squeezing down on my throat even tighter. At this point I really couldn’t breath, and my lungs were beginning to burn. Even with my ankles taped together I tried kicking and fighting against him until at last he released me. Reggie grabbed me by the arm, fingers digging into the deep cut, and presented me to my father with a sickeningly proud look on his face. Now that he wasn’t blocking Spy’s view of me, he could see clearly as I was cut up all over, crying for them to stop.

"Please, just let him go. I'll take his place, I'll do anything! Please, I beg of you!" Spy was begging! Grovelling to the two men, which was very touching but also quite upsetting. Who were they to break him so much that he threw away his pride, something he held very dear. Did I mean that much to him, that he was so freely giving up his dignity? It didn’t matter, in any case, as it did nothing to deter either of the two men. When the knife found its way to my throat I stopped struggling, afraid of what would happen if they killed me and turned their attention to Spy.

“Good little bird, keep still.” The knife slipped down to my stomach, leaving one long scratch that made me shut my eyes. I felt it slip past my hips and poke dangerously into my thigh, tearing another hole in my pants. Fresh tears were violently streaming down my face. This was really it for me, then? I was going to be killed and my father would have to watch. I braced myself, choosing not to watch and instead try to recall my best memory. So far, all I could think up was the barbecue we had back at our last base, with all of us enjoying the open air and lack of fighting. That was as good a place as any to mentally go to when I died, I decided. Unfortunately, death didn't come like I'd thought it would, and the place they took me to wasn't good or comforting at all, it was painful and bitter. 

********

There hands were all over him, pulling at clothes and shoving him down whenever he fought back too hard. Making a choking noise as I realized what they were doing, I screamed and screamed at them, more afraid than I'd ever been in my life, and I wasn't even the one being hurt. That fear wasn't lessened by the fact that he didn't appear to be dying, or responding to me calling out to him to hold on. Spy, despite the guilt this thought brought, really wished he hadn't been here for this part.

Somewhere along the way Scout's screams turned into cries, and cries turned into more pleading. I did my best not to watch, instead searching for some way to escape my binds and slit both of the brutes' throats.

Even as my eyes focused elsewhere, however, I still was forced to hear the sounds that all three of them made. Scout's were pitiful and agonizing, making some part of me that I'd hidden away shrivel up and die. My son was the last innocent thing in my life, and I was being forced to witness the end to that as the darkness reached him.

* * *

When it was over they tore the tape off, leaving me laying on the bed face down before they left the room. They knew I didn’t have the strength to fight back, that I was no threat like this. To my surprise, one of them turned the light out again, making me sigh in relief. I didn’t want to have to get up and free Spy like this, but having him not be able to see me made it better. Spy had begged, threatened, cursed, but in the end there was nothing he could do to stop what transpired. With shaky hands I pushed myself up, reaching up to yank the left over tape off my legs. By the time Reggie was on me he'd cut the tape for better access.

Feeling around, I grabbed a handful of my torn up shirt and held it close to my body, breathing for a second. The small action reminded me of Sniper. Every morning we woke up together he’d pull me closer to him, take a deep breath, and whisper that the real thing was so much better. I finally understand what he meant as I wished it was him I was holding and not a shirt that barely even smelled like me, let alone him. Dropping the shirt I felt around for my pants, finding them at the edge of the bed. As I tried to stand up from the creaky mattress to put them on my legs gave out, pulling me to the floor with a pained gasp. The sound of my body hitting the floor and my voice crying out echoed in the small room, sounding unbearably loud after the momentary silence.

“Jeremy?! Are you alright,” Spy called, having not realized I was still awake after the hell I'd been exposed to. Though my throat felt dry and ached something awful, I did my best to answer in a strong voice.

“I’m fine. I’ll get you out of that tape.” My voice wasn’t as weak as I expected it to be, but I know he heard through it when he didn’t answer back. Something in the silence felt like an accusation, digging it's fingers into me to drag my emotions into the spotlight. Slipping my pants on and moving forward was easier to do if I didn't stand back up, so I didn’t bother doing so. It took me a minute to find him, crawling around on my hands and knees over the cold floor, but when my fingers brushed against the chair I reached up and felt Spy’s arm, straining against the restraints still.

“Get my hands first,” he instructed, something dark in his voice that made me comply quickly. I did my best to rip through the tape, mostly using my teeth as it wouldn't snap with just my fingers tugging at it. When I finally got one wrist free I moved to his legs and let him get his other hand. The second he could, he jumped from the chair and grabbed a hold of me, a quiet sob escaping him the second he felt me in his arms. “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry Jeremy!”

“That hurts,” I mumbled as we both sank to the floor. I let him pull me into his lap and cry, not sure what to do in order to let him know that this wasn’t his fault. His tears fell against my face, warm at first and almost breaking me to the point of crying as well despite my painfully dry eyes. The arms holding me tightened as I tilted my head up, trapping me. “Dad, come on, you’re gonna get blood on your suit.”

“I don’t give a damn about zhe suit!" Though he shouted at me, he sounded a whole lot like Ma did that time I nearly fell through the window and broke it. I was worried she’d be mad it was shattered but all she did is what Spy’s doing right now. Held me in her arms as tight as she could. At this point, I didn’t find it humiliating as he cradled me in his lap like some child. Humiliating was what has been done to me. Humiliating is what he seen done to me. This was far from that. For a few quiet minutes I enjoyed the break from reality, letting him comfort me until I tried to suppress a groan as my leg ached. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little. Mostly my leg," I said, not sure if he'd really believe that it only hurt 'a little' seeing as how I was trembling from the pain and cold.  Or maybe I was shaking because the shock of what had just happened had yet to wear off and I was still pumped full of adrenaline. Either way, I felt ashamed that he was seeing me like this. He's always brave and strong, never letting up that he's in pain, but here I am, a mess over a little bit of torture.

"Zhat knife went deep, I'd be surprised if it didn't hurt. Try to focus on something else, mon fils." That was easier said than done. Our sight was taken from us with the lights out so I couldn't look around for anything to focus on, and I didn't have it in me to talk his head off like usual, leaving my only option suffering. All I could do was rack my brain for something to fill the silence with, and even then I was still in pain.

“Does anyone else know where we are? Do they know we’re missing, yet?” Please tell me that Spy left some sort of trail or that they followed him here and are planning some sort of big ambush as we speak, I hoped to myself.

“They knew you were missing zhe second Demo couldn’t find you in zhe bar. Everyone is looking for you out zhere, I promise. Especially zhe filth- especially Sniper,” he said, pulling me closer to his chest. Was Sniper worried about me? Was he scared? I hope I can get back to him soon so he doesn't have to worry too much. Though Spy had said he didn’t care about the suit getting blood on it, I suddenly became aware of just how many deep cuts littered my body, and the growing warmth under my leg and on my arm.

“I think I’m bleeding still. Everything's wet.” It was also entirely possible that it was just Spy’s tears I felt on my shoulder. He sniffled and lessened his hold on me, not letting me move from his lap, though. It was too dark to see but I heard him removing his outer jacket and felt it fall over my shoulders. The chill from the room wasn’t so bad with it, and with Spy sitting so close to me I was almost warm again. I pulled the jacket tighter around my body and sighed, resting my head against Spy’s chest. He wasn’t a very good pillow, but I could definitely fall asleep like this.

“Are you tired?” I’d been tired since the moment I woke up. Other than getting hit over the head last night-was that last night- and accidentally dozing off earlier I hadn’t slept much at all.

“I’ve been too scared to sleep. How long have I been missing, anyway?” An arm found its way under me and I was lifted into the air as Spy stood up. Rather than set me on the bed he found the corner of the room and sat in it, keeping his arms around me as he kept me in his lap rather than on the straight floor.

“Almost a day, maybe longer. Don't worry about zhat, Jeremy. Sleep, I’ll stay awake to make sure zhey don’t take us by surprise. Zhey will not touch you again.”

* * *

Let it not be said that I was the best, for I've failed at quite a few things in life, all of which brought me great amounts of shame. There was my past in France, leaving Jeremy as a child, and many more things I'd done wrong, but I never thought that I'd so miserably fail to keep my son safe. The only promise I'd made to him in all the years since he was born, and not only was it broken, but in shambles laying at my feet; no chance at being put back together. I wanted to blame something, anything, but with that I'd done made it impossible to blame anyone except those two responsible. Even if not them, there was just too much to lay on any one man's shoulders.

I wasn't a good person, perhaps this was punishment for my sins, or maybe it was a test of my capacity for forgiveness. Either way, I felt like a weight had shifted onto my back and the only way to shrug it off would be to exact revenge. I owed it to Jeremy, my boy, to make sure this affront did not go unpunished.

Now, as Scout lay in my lap slowly trying to fall asleep and breaths coming out in painful wheezes, I had to keep myself from weeping once more. Those barbaric animals treated him with absolute violence and had no mercy on him, even when he had pleaded for just an ounce of pity as he was beaten and used. They would pay dearly for their actions, over and over again if I got my way. The suffering that I would bring down on them would not end quickly, nor would it end with me having mercy on either of them. If they were granted death, it would be after I'd broken them.

"Ils vont souffrir, Jeremy. I promise." He mumbled something I couldn't quite hear, but I decided to shut up and let him rest. After being mercilessly carved up and... Well, he was likely in pain, and I hoped that it would fade as he slept. Something told me it wouldn't, but there was hope nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S’eloigner de lui- Get away from him
> 
> Ils vont souffrir - They will suffer


	7. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED!!!

The second I'd woken up I knew something terrible had happened, though all I could remember was driving back to the base. The red Medic had explained that someone had laid a trap for us and caused me to crash, that we were lucky to be alive so far out of respawn's range.

While I was unconscious from the wreck me and Demo were carted back to the base, and Spy was seemingly missing, presumed abducted as well. Unfortunately that meant divided resources to find both of them now. Things were falling apart quicker than we could find fixes for them, and I was losing patience as well as time. Everyone was working themselves to the bone trying to sort this mess out and I knew it was shallow of me to say it was pointless. Regardless, we were now down two people, one on each team, and I was having a hard time keeping it together. Every part of me wanted to go lose myself in the bottom of a bottle and I most likely would have done just that by now if it weren't for the Blu Spy coming up to me and saying he knew how to find the missing mercenaries.

* * *

 "So? What's the plan, Spook," I asked as we huddled in the intelligence room around the briefcase. It was a tight fit with both teams, but we made it work.

"Zhis was not an option before, but we may be able to make use of it now. Every Spy is of high value to zhis company. We have secrets zhat leaders all over the globe would pay handsomely for, and some would go so far as to kill to obtain zhem. Zhat makes us high risk targets for abduction and assassination," the Blu Spy said, leaning on the table and twirling his knife around. "To make sure all zhese secrets stay where zhey belong, all Spies have a tracker zhat can be remotely activated from anywhere on zhe planet."

"Are you serious? How do we activate it," I glanced back at the Blu Engineer, noting he had dark circles under his eyes. Him and our Engineer have been trying to work out a way to track Scout all day, and I'm sure they were both tired. Some problems you couldn't solve with that wrench.

"Well, to activate zhe Red Spy's tracker, we only need the to open zhis," Almost all of us jumped slightly as Spy stabbed his knife into the briefcase, breaking the lock on it and prying it open. "Zhere it is!"

"Can we track him now," Scout, the Blu Scout, asked. Spy lifted a small gray box from the case, showing us the screen with a blip on it.

"Now we merely need to follow it. I suggest we make a plan immediately." Rather than making a plan, I wanted to jump in my camper and floor it to the destination on that tracker. That wouldn't be wise, but I was growing more and more anxious the longer we waited. Spy set the tracker down on the table, sounding more than a little proud of himself as he said, "Gentlemen, let's begin."

After zeroing in on the coordinates the tracker gave us, we did some digging and found that they lead to an old Mann Co factory. We spent a little over an hour going over blueprints and layouts of the building, making sure we were absolutely ready for anything. Raiding a building took proper knowledge of the rooms and possible ambush spots. We couldn't let anything take us by surprise the second we stepped into that building. Our primary goal was finding Spy, and hopefully was with him, and making sure they were okay. Once they were secure, then we would handle any and everybody responsible for their abduction. However, if we were unable to locate them, then anybody we found would be captured and questioned.

"That covers the first and second floors. Now, there are unfinished plans for a basement. Chances are if it ever did get built it isn't finished, so getting down there won't be easy. Any volunteers?" Engie looked around the table, his expression neutral.

"I'll go. If it isn't finished I can move more easily down there than most of ya's," Scout said, a determined glint in his eyes. "But, I may need someone to cover me, though. I won't be able to drag two whole people back with bullets flyin' at me."  

"Sniper could cover you, Schatz," the Blu Medic said, his pet name going unnoticed by most everyone in the room. The idea of covering for him made me grumble slightly. My plan had been to kick the doors down and search the entire place top to bottom, not watch someone else jump around kicking doors down. But... if Scout and Spy _were_ in the basement then that's where I wanted to be first.

"That works for me. If he's not down there, I'm heading straight to the top floor, though. Not waiting for you," I said and nodded at Scout, getting a slight nod back. Beside him, Medic gave his arm a little squeeze. Somehow they’d grown a lot closer in the short time they’d spent together these past two days. It was a bizarre change to their usual dynamics, but I couldn't muster the energy to care right now. All of my energy was focused on my own Scout and the plan.

"Then everyone has a section to cover," the Red Engineer said, picking up his wrench and dropping the tracker on the table. "Let's head out."

* * *

There was hope, if only a small amount, that at this moment my Blu counterpart had activated my tracker. Of course, I had no way of knowing if my watch ever made it to this infernal place. When I first awoke, bound to that chair, I had none of my gear on me, but I knew I had to cling to that little hope. Not for myself, but for the son who I had to protect. He currently had his face buried in my shirt, sleeping as sound as the dead. A few times I'd raised a hand to his face to make sure he  _wasn't_ dead, no pretense of nonchalance or indifference as I wore my feelings for anyone to see if they discovered us. Maintaining my composure was useless now, anyway. All that mattered was Jeremy and being here to shield him from further harm.

If someone didn’t come soon his wounds may become worse. Zhey could become infected or he could lose too much blood, and I did not even know the full extent of his injuries. Not to mention the fact that we had no water or food, and the longer we stayed down here, the more he’d wither away. My jacket was already in use, wrapped around his upper body so he wouldn’t freeze in this ice-cold room, but I gently unbuttoned my vest and slipped it off to try and staunch the bleeding in his leg for now. With only my thin button up shirt left I was now more aware of the chill, and held Jeremy even closer, gently stroking his hair even though he was already asleep and couldn’t feel it. As my hand touched his forehead I noticed that he was quite warm, and as I felt both of his cheeks I knew he was catching a fever. My cold hands woke him up, it seems, making him groan and turn his head slightly, nose digging into my chest.

“Ugh, it hurts.” Shushing him quietly I returned to running my hand through his hair and massaging circles into his back. I should have been more careful, he barely slept for a half hour by my count. It was difficult to say for sure, but other than counting I had nothing to do in this dark hole. 

“When you were just a month old, you got very sick and had to be taken to see a doctor,” I whispered, knowing that there was no point in telling this story when he was so out of it he likely wouldn’t remember. “I was terrified! Your mother kept telling me over and over zhat you would be fine and zhat I had nothing to worry about, but _my god_ I was so worried when we were at zhe clinic. You were already so small, and when you fell ill you stopped growing like you should.”

“I think Ma told me about that” he said quietly, shivering. I was surprised he had the strength to speak and I wondered if I should have said anything in the first place. He needed to save his strength. “You yelled at a nurse for making me cry.”

“I was… very stressed and worried about you. Your mother told you about zhat?” We had agreed that Scout would know very little about my background, it was just safer for him that way. I was surprised she told him anything of me.

“Yeah, she told me that story at least ten times. Sometimes I feel like I've heard it so often that I can remember it, even though I know I can't cause I remember it more like I seen it. It still doesn't feel real, but it's the closest thing I have to a memory of you." That day was somewhat faded from my own memory, but I remembered that the woman was trying to take his temperature but he didn't want her anywhere near him so she had to show me how to do it after a while. I didn't mean to yell at her the first time and she was actually very nice about it. I think she was a pediatrician, though, not a nurse. She was use to parents being overly concerned about kids and taking it out on everyone else. "I think I asked her about you at least five times a day when I was younger-” Scout started before he erupted into a violent fit of coughing, grabbing my shirt for support. My hand fell to his back to rub comforting little circles into it and when he was done I gave him a little pat. “Sorry, I don’t feel so good.”

“Zhere is nothing to apologize for. So, what else did she tell you about me?” After taking a shaky breath he let go of my shirt, instead choosing to let his face fall back against my chest.

“Well, I stopped asking about you after a while. Every time I brought you up she’d get this look on her face and I didn’t feel right about it no more. Asking about you always seemed to make her sad. The most I ever knew about you was that you were from France and had a dangerous job that kept you away from us. There were a few stories, some about before I was born, but they never really felt real.” Obviously she didn’t tell him that I would often call to check in on them, sometimes just to hear him in the background. As the years passed he got louder and louder, as if he knew I was trying to listen for him on the other line. "Dad, I'm... I'm sorry I never believed the things she said about you."

"What?" He took a shaky breath, his heart beating so fast I could faintly feel it. 

"Every time she told me you had to leave for our own good, I always thought maybe she was lying to make me feel better and that you had left because you didn't care. I'm sorry for that." I leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the top of his head. 

"You had no way of knowing zhe truth of why I left, Jeremy. I do not blame you for thinking otherwise." 

"But I should have trusted Ma. She wouldn't lie to me about this, and you'd never just abandon her, but I didn't believe her and spent most of my life thinking you skipped out on us because of it." Sighing and shaking my head, despite his inability to see me, I struggled to find the right words. The words he needed to hear.

“You know she was telling zhe truth now, zhat is all zhat matters. She is a strong woman, your mother, and she will still love you, even if you doubted her at a time.” Laine was incredibly passionate when it came to two things, her boys and love. Nothing came between her and those things, even the people on the other end of her affection. The minutes ticked by, and I realized that Scout had been silent for a while, making me nervous. Had he gone back to sleep already? “Jeremy?”

“Yeah?” I sighed in relief, pushing the fear that he’d slip away to the back of my head.

“How is zhe pain? Fading?” To be honest, I didn’t have to ask, for I already knew it wasn’t getting any better. And it wouldn't, not while we were trapped in this freezing room. 

“It really hurts. If we manage to get out of here, I need you to promise me something, Dad.” Uncertainty washed over me hearing his tone. Promises were not to be taken lightly, but for my son I would do anything. Surely he didn’t know this, though, not anymore, so he probably wasn't going to ask something extreme.

“We _will_ get out of here. What is it?” Once I heard him take a shaky breath, I knew he was just trying to find the words to say.

“They can’t know. I don’t want,” he stopped himself, his voice breaking. It didn’t take a genius to know what he was referring to, especially with him becoming hysteric. “You have to promise, Dad. Promise you won’t let them know!”

“Jeremy, calm down, it’s alright!” Gut-wrenching sobs had started to pour from the young man’s mouth, making my heart ache. “Shh, it’s alright. I promise, I will tell no one.”

“Not even Snipes, okay? If he found out he’d feel really bad about it and I don’t want him to feel like he’s got to tiptoe around me.” Sighing and tucking his head under my chin, I shook my head. His cries were subsiding, but they still punched a hole in my heart.

“I won’t tell your jarman anything, Jeremy, but- but, only if you let Medic have a look at you.” I had almost found myself saying that he could trust that Sniper. When had _I_ even began to trust him? I certainly still didn’t like him. Perhaps our extended time together looking for Scout had showed me a side of him that I hadn't seen before, or maybe I had just realized there were worse things than my son growing up and finding love. Much worse things, it would appear.

“I’ll let Medic fix me up. Not talking to him, though.” Even if he did, that crazy doctor was no psychiatrist and I imagine he would be of little help.

“You don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready.” As much as I hated to admit this, that filthy bushman would figure it out eventually, anyway. Whether it was because his job was watching people so closely or because he spent all his time listening to other people talk, that jarman noticed things he shouldn’t all the time. This time, I was certain that Jeremy had passed out, as I could hear his soft snores. Unlike me, he wouldn’t be able to last much longer like this. There may not be time to wait until rescue. Or so I thought, but suddenly a thunderous sound echoed through the room, originating from above us and sending a poof of dust floating down on us. That better be those fools!

* * *

The very second Demo blew the reinforced door open we were storming the building, squinting as we ran through the settling debris, Sniper and I splitting to find the basement. Turns out, they _had_ started building it, but the stairs leading down there were pitch black and I wasn't seeing no lights. 

“Hurry it up, we need to move quickly!” Seeing as how I wasn’t afraid of the dark, not at all, I kept going, trying not to fall as I took the stairs two at a time, my light barely revealing the steps. When we got to the bottom of the staircase we came to a long hall with only a few doors.

“I’ll start checking rooms, keep a lookout,” I whispered to Sniper, who was shining his light down the long hall for me. The walls were covered in plastic that kicked up whenever I passed it, giving me a near heart attack. The first door I came to was already open, and as I peered in it I found an empty room. The next room the door was closed, and as I reached for the handle I found there wasn’t one. I pressed my hand against the door and pushed, sliding it open and shining my light in quick. Once more, there was nothing. I was careful to sneak to the next one, as quiet as a mouse. This was the last door in the long hall, everything else was just plastic and drywall. My breath was coming quick as I reached down and found a handle, turning it slowly. A loud clank startled me before I realized it was the door unlocking. Why was there such a big bolt on it? I shoved the heavy door open, shining my light in only to have it kicked out of my hands by a foot that came from the dark room. I screamed loudly, jumping back and tripping over my own feet, all the while nearly pissing my pants out of fear.

“What’s going on down there?” As I hit the floor I heard Sniper running to help me. Not wanting to get pummeled I grabbed for my flashlight to throw at whoever had been waiting on the other side of the door, feeling around for my dropped gun as well. When I swung it up and illuminated the doorway, however, I stopped and nearly laughed. Standing over me with his mask gone and a death glare was the Red Spy, his shirt covered in blood. When Sniper got to us he seen him standing there and let out a string of curses, clearly relieved.

“Spy! Where's Scout? Is Scout in there,” he asked urgently, shouldering his rifle and helping me up.

“He’s… not in any condition to walk on his own,” Spy said, glancing back into the room. Sniper grew more wary at that, all the previous worry returning to his face.

“How bad is it?” We followed him into the room and I shun my light around. There was a chair surrounded by scrunched up duct tape and an old bed with what looked like a tattered shirt discarded on it. Deciding to not read too closely into those blood splatters all over the place I looked around, searching the rest of the room. I stopped when the light landed on my Blu counterpart laying in a heap in the corner. He had Spy’s jacket wrapped around his shoulders and Spy’s vest tied around his upper leg, clearly unconscious and looking like he'd gone through a shredder. The sickly drained look to his skin was only worse under the white light of the flashlight.

“I attempted to stop the bleeding, but I didn’t have much on hand. I think he's sick, or infected.” Sniper ran to Scout, sliding down to kneel beside him and scoop him up as though it was nothing, dragging him against his chest to hold him close. I imagine he's been waiting to put his arms around that guy since the second he found out he was missing. Did it feel right, I wondered? Was he finally at ease, or would that come later when things were calm.

“Babes, can you hear me? Scout?" The runner didn't even so much as open his eyes. Sniper stood up, holding Scout as gently as he could. "Looks like you’ll have to cover for me instead. Spy, stay close and we'll get you out of here.” Before I could even say yes we heard footsteps in the hall outside. I grabbed for my gun and ran to the door, ready to shoot whoever rounded the corner. I jumped out as the footsteps reached the room, pointing my light and gun on the unsuspecting Blu Medic, who screamed bloody murder at the surprise ambush.

“Vait, don’t shoot!” He nearly fell back the same way I had done, but I managed to catch his arm. 

“What are you doing down here, Doc? You know me and Sniper were handling the basement!” He pulled me in close, his heart beating so fast I could feel it through his chest pressed close against me.

“I heard you scream, mein Schatz,” he said, leaning back to pull my face up and examine it. “Is everything okay? Vhat happened?”

“We found Spy and Scout,” I said just as Sniper nudged me out of the way, still holding Scout in his arms.

“He’s cut up pretty bad, Medic. Do you have your medigun?” I felt a lot more comfortable with five of us down here. Suddenly it didn't feel so scary.

“Its outside. Bring him quickly.” Medic grabbed for my hand, pulling me along as Spy and Sniper followed behind briskly. I rounded the corner to the stairs first, my gun drawn in case someone was waiting for us.

"You're covered in blood, Spook," I heard Sniper note from behind us.

“It's Scout's. Did you find zhem,” Spy asked as we climbed the stairs, his voice angry.

“You mean the ones who abducted you? How many we talking here,” There was more than a hint of malice in his tone as well. 

“Zhere are two of zhem. Do not kill zhem when you locate zhem. Zhey need to suffer greatly before I grant zhem death.” When we made it to the ground floor Sniper followed after Medic and Spy, but I hung back. While they were taking care of the other Scout, I could give word to the other guys that we found them and help search for the people who nabbed them. I grabbed at my headset, pressing down the mic.

“We’ve located Scout and Spy,” I said, walking past the heavy machinery to look for Soldier. He should be around here still, this was his designated area to search. “There are two enemies confirmed by Spy, possibly in the building. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT kill anyone you find! Captures only, we still need them alive.”

“Where are Scout and Spy now? Do zhey require medical attention?” That was the Red Medic, for sure.

“They’re outside now with the Blu Medic, but I’m sure he could use a hand.” A shuffle behind me had me stopping dead in my tracks. Someone’s following me. I raised my gun back up, on high alert. If I turned around right now, they may make a run for it. I had to wait til they got closer.

“Scout? Are you still inside?” I couldn’t answer the Blu Medic without taking my other hand off my gun, so I remained silent, waiting. The footsteps were getting closer, closer, just a few feet behind me now. “Schatz? Is everything okay?”

“Aghhhhh!” I spun around, my heart nearly jumping out of my throat at the battle cry. Something hard hit me in the head, knocking me back. Blu Soldier was standing about ten feet behind where I had been, his shovel raised over a figure on the floor. “Don’t even think about it, Maggot!”

“Schatz!? Are you alright?!” I reached up to the cut on my forehead, wincing when I felt it. I clicked my mic, composing myself a bit before I could really speak.

“I’m here, doc, everything's fine. Soldier and I just caught someone.” A hand appeared in my face, waiting. The Red Demoman was standing over me with a grin on his face.

“Sorry for the scare, laddie, but we weren’t sure if ya knew he was behind you.” I’m guessing he had been the one to push me back, but why he chose to do so by throwing a- I glanced around, noting the the rock on the floor- rock at my head was beyond me.

“It’s fine. Did they find anyone else, there should be another guy.” Just then shouting had us all looking up at the stairs to the second floor. We winced as a hooded man came tumbling down them, hitting the floor hard. A knife flew past him, nearly stabbing him in the face as the Blu Spy materialized above him.

“Stay down, you fool.” Everyone else started coming out then, all of them stopping at the scene.

“Was there anyone else,” the Blu Sniper asked, standing next to Spy and pointing his rifle down at the man for good measure.

“We didn’t find anyone,” the Blu Demo said, squatting down to grab the man Soldier was verbally and physically berating. “Both of the Pyros are still looking, just to be sure.”

“Good. Let's get out of zhis filthy building,” Spy said, letting someone else handle the man he’d taken down while he walked past us. The Blu Heavy picked up the other man, dragging him by his leg as we left the factory.  

* * *

Spy and Medic talked quietly while Scout was healing under the medigun Medic had propped up, but I was too focused on him to join into their conversation. It seemed private, anyway. I reached down and took Scout's hand, holding it tightly. He looked awful, from head to toe. His hands weren't taped like usual, prolly lost them in that hellhole, and the jacket he was wrapped in didn't hide the gashes all over his body. The heat rolling off his skin did little to calm my nerves as he remained unconscious. 

“I’m here, Scout. I made it,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss his forehead, basically the only part of his body not cut up or bruised. I looked back at Spy and Medic, both of whom were now adamantly whisper shouting.

"I do not need you to pick at his brain, _doctor_ , I need you to heal him and not ask any questions." Medic was clearly angry at that, making me sit up to interject.

“What wrong?” Both of them backed off each other, Spy shaking his head. 

“Nozhing,” Spy said, throwing his hands up and coming to sit down by Scout.

“It is hardly nozhing!” Medic said, clearly angry.

“Zhen we can discuss it more later, but for now, please, _help my son_.”


	8. Hitting The Medical Mark

I could almost understand that as a father he wanted to keep his word, but I was a doctor, I knew what these kinds of things could do to people! Scout will need time and patience and someone to talk to about what happened. After taking a few days, weeks even, to recover, people will start to wonder why he isn't healing mentally. These injuries on the outside will heal quickly, but what’s been done to him he will never forget, and his lover needs to know that.

Perhaps I would have continued to argue with the arrogant Spy, but I was distracted as everyone began pouring out of the factory, two captured squirming men in the clutches of Heavy and Demo. When Spy seen them his expression got much more sinister, hands clenching into fists. He finally took his eyes off his son to approach the group and tell the two where to put them in the other truck.

“Doc, can you slap a band-aid on this or something?” I glanced around, hearing the enemy Scout but not seeing him. “Back here, Doc.”

“Vhere… Vhat on earth happened,” I asked when I turned and noted the trail of blood dripping down Scout’s face. My medigun was in use so I pulled him over to sit down on the grass, tilting his head up to examine the cut. It wasn't too deep, more of a bruise and broken skin than anything.

“I can fix zhat up right avay, Herr Scout," someone said from behind us. I glanced back to see my Red counterpart holding his Quick Fix, a pleasant enough look on his face. I could see his smugness, however. Somewhat unwillingly, I let him heal Scout, who kept a hold of my arm the whole time, glancing between us nervously. Obviously this made me slightly proud, knowing that he preferred me over his own team's Medic, but I wasn't going to admit that to him. I would, however, gloat to the Red Medic about it at some point. 

“Uh, thanks, Medic. Feel like a million bucks now.” Looking down at my Scout, and then at the unconscious Blu runner laid down in the back of our truck, I felt a slight obligation to tell Sniper about what happened to him, but I knew it wasn’t my place. Even if it would kill me to not know if someone I loved had been brutalized in such a way, I couldn't force the information. Whatever Scout told him would be his business, even if he chose to tell him nothing. Though, unlike the Red Spy, I had made no promises and I would not let him get in the way of what was best for his son's recovery.

"Hey, Doctor, I think he's waking up!" My head snapped up, eyes going back to Scout as Sniper leaned over him and placed his hands on the man's face. Before I could warn Sniper or tell him to back away, Scout was sitting up, screaming and trying to push Sniper off him, movements weak but frantic in his alarmed state. "Whoa, hey! Scout, it's me, its Sniper!" 

"Give him room, Herr Sniper, he's most likely very confused right now," I instructed, running to help calm Scout down. Spy heard the commotion and jogged back as well, grabbing Scout's hands and pulling them close to his chest in an effort to remind the runner that he hadn't been abandoned and that 'dad' was still here. The fact that Scout called Spy that sometimes confused me as I knew he hadn't grown up knowing the man and didn't find out until five or so years after meeting him. Whatever felt natural to the two was for the best, I suppose, but I didn't know anyone else who so quickly recovered from something so jarring as obtaining a parent.

"Jer- Scout, you're okay. We're safe," Spy said gently, keeping Scout from clawing at us as his eyes slowly took in what was happening. Or trying to claw, I should say, as it appeared most of his fingernails had been ripped out. Finally realizing that he was laying under the open sky and not locked away in a cold, quiet room, Scout calmed down a bit, taking a shaky breath.

"How did we get out? I don't remember... Snipes? I'm sorry for screaming at you like that." His voice was very quiet and I'm guessing he'd already done a lot of screaming while they tortured him. My medigun could fix that, but it was doing nothing for his fever or dehydration. I suspected that it would prevent the development of pneumonia at least.

"Don't worry about it, Pumpkin, I didn't mean to spook you like that. I'm just glad you're okay," careful of his still healing lacerations, Sniper leaned down and pulled Scout into a hug. "I was really worried about you." 

"Yes, yes, quite touching. Now stand back and let him rest," Spy said, not letting go of Scout's hands. The murderous look in his eyes did nothing to strike fear into the Sniper, but I suspect that it was half for show anyway.  _Half_. 

“You’re one to talk, Spook.” They both stepped back, regardless, giving Scout his space while he caught his bearings. While they watched him from afar, I noticed he was getting nervous. All this attention could wait till he was of a more sound mind, I decided, pushing the two even further back to step closer to him.

“Scout, your friend here is going to help you teleport back to the base vith me, alright? Everyone else is going to be driving back, so you'll have a minute to yourself.” Visibly relaxing, Scout nodded, trying to sit up to see who I meant. Of course, I was gesturing to the other Scout. “No, no. Stay down, Scout.”

“I can carry him, Medic,” Sniper said, confused as to why I hadn’t chosen him to assist. In all honesty, it’s because I needed to have a word with Scout alone, and that’d be easier without his lover hovering over us. 

“You can meet us in my office when you get back, but I don’t want Scout trying to act tough in his condition to impress you or brush this off.” Sniper, though clearly hesitant to leave his Boston lover alone for a single second, nodded and agreed. Scout was known for putting on a strong front when in the presence of people he wanted to think the best of him. Sniper was no exception to that rule of his, it seemed.

The Blu engineer was setting up the transporter already, close to the truck so we wouldn’t have to move Scout far. While Heavy and Demo dragged the two fighting captors to have the Blu Spy tie them up, we turned the Medigun off, getting ready to move Scout.

“I’ll come get you when I’m back at the base, alright, Roo? Won't take too long.” Scout nodded, letting me and the Red Scout lift him up and walk him over. I let the two of them go through first, following after with my medigun the second I could.

* * *

Back in my office and with Scout laying on the exam table, I dropped my guard, sitting down next to him. After getting him back under the healing rays I’d sent the Red Scout to wait for everyone else to return. This gave the injured runner more privacy as I cleaned and tended to his more personal wounds.

From what I’d heard, Spy had been talked into letting everyone on either team have half an hour with each of the abductors after he was through with them. I can only imagine how much suffering Spy could inflict before then. I'd personally see to it that they lasted long enough to still feel the pain everyone else brought on them after he was done if I had to. I myself wanted a moment with one of them. Science demands that things stay equal, and unless I had a gory brutal story to recount to Scout about how much they suffered then I wouldn't be satisfied.

“Can I go through Respawn, Doc,” Scout asked, his face bright red as he rolled over to face away from me after I had finished cleaning his wounds. His lacerations were already mostly healed, so I was unsure why he’d prefer respawn at this point. Even the bloody nubs where his nails had been were replaced with healthy sturdy nails once more.

“Zhat is hardly necessary, you vill be up and valking soon.” His face fell, sporting a somewhat disgusted and defeated look.

“Respawn always makes me feel like everything that happens to my body during a match is suddenly erased.” Ah, so that’s what has him looking so disgusted. 

“Spy informed me of just vhat happened to you,” I started, noticing how he immediately tensed up. “Not zhat I couldn’t tell from zhe tears. Do you feel like respawn vill erase _z_ _hat_?”

“I… guess not really. But what if Sniper can tell? I’m bad at hiding normal things, Doc, there’s no way I can keep this from him for too long.” Sighing and standing up, I looked away from him to search for something he could change into. Those clothes of his might as well be burned, even Spy's more expensive attire were good for little else besides kindling for a fire at this point. 

“Zhat is likely true, mein Freund. Tell me, vhy do you feel like you can’t tell him in zhe first place?” Scout didn’t answer, and when I glanced back at him he had a look of fear on his face. “Are you vorried he vill think less of you?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just,” he paused, unable to find the right words. “I think I’m just scared that if he finds out he’ll start acting different around me. No, I know he will! He's one of those good guys, way better than most dudes I know, and this would hit him pretty hard. I don't want that, doc, I just... I can't take that. So, I’m gonna bury this and never tell him about it. I'll be extra careful for a few weeks until I forget any of this ever happened!” I’d found a plain Blu shirt in the cabinets, most likely left behind by one of them during a match. 

“I am no professional on zhese matters, Jeremy, so I do not know vhat should be done. However, I do know zhat Sniper cares for you, greatly. You can choose not to tell him anyzhing, but keep in mind zhat if he finds out you may suddenly find yourself having to explain vhy you didn’t trust him in zhe first place.” Scout was silent, contemplating my words. He was still disoriented from the fever, so I didn't expect him to think too hard.

“What if he doesn’t… want to be with me anymore after he finds out? What if I don't want to have sex with him ever again? That would be a huge turn off, and I'm not sure Snipe would understand if I suddenly started hating getting touchy...” Seeing how frantic and undone Sniper became when he couldn’t find his little Scout, I highly doubted that he’d ever let him go. I'm sure deep down, even Scout knew that. Right now he was just out of it, which was to be expected. 

“Now zhat doesn’t sound like Sniper, does it? Vhen has he ever seemed zhe type to give up on you?”

“This is different, Doc. Before I had only ever been with him, now I’m…” That kind of thinking would poison him.

“And now you still have only ever been vith him. Vhat they did to you vas wrong and in no vay sex, mein Freund. Had you been a virgin before this, I'd go as far to say you still are. Even I, as a doctor, can tell you zhat you do not have to be defined by vhat Zhey have done to you from zhis day on. You did not choose to let vhat happened to you occur, and Sniper vould understand that, even if you lose all desire for a certain intimacy. In fact, I zhink if you tell him before zhe others kill those two monsters he’ll appreciate the chance to rip them apart even more.” Scout was chewing on his lip now, worrying perhaps more than he had to about this. Mental scars were not to be taken lightly, and I did not want him to feel pressured by my words. “However, you do not have to tell him anyzhing, Scout, unless you vish to. Your vell being is more important zhan zhat. Take zhings at your own pace, just keep in mind zhat if Herr Sniper ever stresses you out I'll be vight here to talk to.”

“Right. Thanks, Doc.” I handed the Blu shirt to him, giving him a warm smile. While I took the bloodied jacket and vest to throw away, I noticed that even his trousers were ruined. Even though they were bloodied and torn, he had already slipped them back on and I figured I’d let him keep them until he was back in his room or until I found something else for him to wear. The distant sound of running footsteps made me groan and turn to the door, ready for the chaos of a certain Australian assassin busting in. At least I got to give him that little piece of advice before-

“I’m here,” Sniper said, gasping for breath as he slammed through the door and skidded to a halt, arms thrown back as he stopped.

“Wunderbar! Just barge right in, zhen,” I said sarcastically, turning to Scout who was struggling to put the shirt on. “Scout?”

“I got this,” he said stubbornly, wincing when he pulled it over his head. Leaving him be, I went to close the door behind Sniper, pulling him in close so I could speak to him without Scout overhearing us.

“His fever has not dropped, yet, and he is severely dehydrated and in shock over vhat happened. Don't pull him away from the medigun, and... Be patient with him, his recovery vill take time.” That wasn’t in violation of Scout’s privacy, as I could have meant physically or mentally and Sniper would be none the wiser.

“Right,” is all he said in response. “Pumpkin, how you feeling?”

“I… have something I need to tell you.” Shocked, I looked back to Scout, who was now sitting with his legs hanging over the side of the table and a serious expression painted on his face. He looked frightened but determined.

“I’ll be behind zhat door, zhen,” I said, glancing between the two of them before heading to my room. They would need lots of privacy for this conversation, if Scout was about to tell him what it sounded like he was.

* * *

The second Medic was gone Sniper came to my side, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead. Though I had almost resigned myself to tell him, it was harder than I thought. How do I even say it?

“You alright, Pumpkin? I mean... does it still hurt?” Taking a shaky breath I took his hand and pulled him down to sit with me.

“Not as much, but this isn't about that. Well, not entirely. Doc seems to think that the sooner you know the better and I don’t exactly want to hide this from you…” Sniper grabbed my hand, his face suddenly worried.

“Mate, you can tell me anything, you know that. I trust you, and you can trust me.” Doing my best to relax I leaned against him, deciding this would be easier if I didn’t have to see the look in his eyes when I said it.

“When they brought Spy in… after they tied him up… Reggie, the one I knew from the bar... really hurt me, Snipe. He and that other guy... they did more than just torture me, and I'm not really sure how to deal with it,” I said, feeling how Sniper’s muscles seemed to tense up as I spoke, heart beating faster under my face.

“You mean they… what are you saying Scout?" Sniper was shaking, his voice pained. "Did that man force himself on you?"

“It wasn’t just Reggie. Snipe, I’m so sorry, I tried to stop them but they had me all tied up and I couldn’t-” I had to stop or else I’d start to cry and there was no way I was crying in front of Sniper. Not once had I shown weakness in front of him, and I didn't want that to change. I didn't want anything to change!

“Scout...” Suddenly I was being crushed in a giant bear hug while Sniper’s hand rested on the back of my head. “It isn’t your fault at all, Pumpkin, don’t say sorry!”

“They-they hurt me, Snipe,” I said, falling apart. I was furious with my eyes for betraying me and letting me cry, pushing my face into Sniper's shoulders so they would be hidden.

“Shh, I know, I know. Look, it’s okay, I'll get you through this,” Sniper said, releasing me from his bone-crushing hug to swipe the tears from my face. “It’s okay, Pumpkin, you’re safe now. It’ll be okay.” There was silence for a few minutes after that, none of us saying anything as Sniper comforted me. It's true that I felt safe in his arms, more than I had expected to for a long time, but when he suddenly began to shift and pull away, I panicked.

“Can you take me to your camper, I don’t wanna be alone,” I asked, gripping his ammo vest to keep him from slipping away, pleading with him through my eyes. A small pang rang through my heart when he looked away rather than fall for it.

“I’ll take you there as soon as Medic says you’re good to go, I promise, but you need to stay here for a bit. Will you be okay with him while I go and move some of your stuff over?” My voice had failed me, so I chose to simply nod, releasing him so he could go and get the Doc.

Once more, for no reason at all, I almost lost control of my emotions and started crying. The only thing that saved me was the numbness that had begun to spread through my whole body, leaving me feeling like an empty husk. 


	9. A Life Spoiled, A Love Struck

I’d kept a brave face on for Scout’s benefit, but now that I was alone I slid to the floor, overwhelmed with so many feelings and emotions. Concern, guilt, horror. More than a little fear. What was going to happen to that little gremlin now? How do I go about making sure he never has to relive these past two days again? How is he going to handle this? Standing back up and pacing the halls of the Blu fort, I tried to get a hold of my thoughts. Furious, I turned and slammed my fist into the wall with a shout, pain erupting in my hand as it connected with solid brick. The waves of pain were nothing, though. Meaningless after what I'd just been told. Unable to stand any longer my legs buckled beneath me and I fell to the floor, a sob ripping through my throat.

“Piss! It’s not right!” Why him? Obviously no one deserves what happened to Scout, but why specifically him? Why did he start hanging around that guy? What made them want to hurt him so badly? Why the bloody hell did something  _this_ bad have to happen to an innocent little ankle biter like him?! 

Just then I remembered that Spy had brought the two monsters responsible for Scout’s pain back here to make them thoroughly pay for what they did. There was no doubt in my mind that Spy knew the extent of what happened, after all he was there with Scout and that was probably what he and Medic were arguing over, but I still had to be there to make sure that they suffered just as much as Scout had, and even more. Less worried and pained, I was now just bloodthirsty. Scout would be safe in the Medic’s care, at least for a little while longer, so I decided to go track them down now. I’d move Scout’s things to my camper and come back for him when I had gotten this anger out of my system. For now, I needed to subject those wankers to a whole new form of agony, and I was already thinking up some creative ways to do it.

* * *

Medic had come back out of his room to sit with me, bringing with him a glass of water for me and making small talk while I remained silent. Sniper had been very calm, so why did I feel like this was going to blow up in my face later? I glanced down at my arm, seeing the dried blood caked up on my skin like mud. I grimaced, shutting my eyes and thinking about Boston and the Red Sox and Ma. I missed my old home. I missed my brothers. What would they all say if they saw me now, covered head to toe in all this muck and scum. What I wouldn't give to have the time to visit them right now.

“Scout, are you alright?” One look at me answered that question for Medic as he seen my trembling body. “Scout, vould you like to take a shower? You can use mine and then we can get you something to eat. I imagine you must be very hungry.”

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot,” I replied, my voice sounding dead even to my own ears. Even after drinking the whole cup of water my throat felt a bit raspy. Whether that was from the crying, the screaming, the being gagged, or the lack of water for two days I wasn’t sure. Should I sound more enthusiastic? Normally I’d be talking his ear off by now, but I had no energy.

“Come along, mein Freund.” Helping me up and taking my arm, Medic lead me to the decontamination showers, usually reserved for himself when he ran risky experiments. I’m not sure why he was keeping a hold of me, but maybe he knew I was feeling emotionally drained by my expression. He pulled the curtains open for me, choosing to pull a chair up to sit outside while I reached for the handle.

The water that began to spew from the faucet was cold, making me jump when it touched my feverish skin and pull away instinctively. There was something soothing about the cold, though, so I didn’t bother fixing it and instead relaxed into the freezing stream, letting it cool me off. This whole time I’d been in Medic’s room it had been too hot, way hotter than it usually was. Or maybe I just hadn’t readjusted since getting rescued from that freezing hell-like pit. Forgetting that I was supposed to be washing myself, I stood not moving for a solid minute, zoning out as I stared at the bloody water gathering at my feet. Snapping out of it when I heard Medic opening the cabinet outside the shower, I grabbed for the rough scrubby he kept in here as well as a large bottle of soap that smelled more like a sanitizer than a body wash. That was probably better, anyway. I didn't just want to be clean, I wanted to erase what happened. All evidence of it washed down the drain.

After a few minutes of scrubbing the grime off my body, and maybe even some of my skin with it, the water running off me had finally become clear. I turned the faucet off, flicking water off my face as it ran into my eyes and over my parted lips. I took a moment to collect myself before having to face Medic once more, finding that a more daunting task than I expected it to be. Why did this feel like such a difficult task when I'd just seen his face a few minutes before?

“Doc?” There was a shuffling sound as he stood up from his chair and pushed the curtain open to hand me a white, puffy towel. I wrapped it around my waist after patting down my hair and torso, wondering why I still didn’t feel clean. The blood was gone, as well as other disgusting fluids that had gotten on me, but I could still feel the filth. Is this how my dad feels when there’s blood on that fancy suit of his? Maybe we do got something in common after all.

“I’m not sure you vant to put zhose trousers back on, mein Freund. I can go to your room and find something else.” It’s true that I didn’t exactly want to wear those tattered and stained pants anymore, but I also didn’t want to be in here all alone.

“You don’t have to do that! I’m fine with this for now,” I said, stepping out to keep him from leaving. He was already out of reach, though.

“Absolutely not! I can’t let you valk around with no clothes on, not vith that fever. Stay here, I vill be right back, I promise.” With that he was gone, leaving me alone and forlorn. Looking around at the empty room, I decided to go lay back down on the exam bed, shutting my eyes under the intense light. Not the most comfortable place, but these past two days finally decided to come crashing down on me, leaving me exhausted and a little broken. It wasn’t comfortable, but everywhere in this base was home.

* * *

Apparently Spy hadn’t let anyone else in the Red respawn room where we’d stuck the two mongrels. The floors and walls were easy to clean, so my guess is Spy planned on making a mess. I banged on the door, hoping they weren’t dead already.

“One moment,” Spy called, his voice heavily muffled through the thick door. A second or two went by in silence before the door slid open, revealing blood splattered walls and red, slick floors. If it weren’t for what they did to Scout, I may have a touch a pity. Instead I felt nothing. “Yes?”

“You know what they did,” I spoke, my voice going deeper and quieter so no one would hear, even though there was no one else around. Spy was still only wearing his dirty button up shirt, having not wasted a second upon arriving here to set to work. His expression was unreadable, but I wasn’t exactly asking for confirmation, I already knew. I didn’t exactly blame him for what happened, but I knew he’d understand this burning hatred I was feeling.

“Did Medic tell you?” I heard something like a cry behind him, leading me to believe that at least one of them was still alive. Better be that pathetic worm that befriended Scout in the bar.

“Scout did.” I pushed past him, shrugging his hand off me when he moved to stop me.

“If you can’t control your anger zhen leave now, mon ami,” he warned as I approached one of the two men. One was laying on the floor, his hand nailed down so he couldn’t escape, and the other was sitting in a chair unbound but too busted up to move.

“Like you bothered to control yourself,” I muttered, leaning down in front of the one in the chair and pulling his head up by his hair. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and his nose looked like it’d been broken, possible more than once.

“What I did was use my anger as fuel, I did not let it cloud my judgement me,” Spy said, grabbing my hand and pulling it away from the tortured man, stepping in front of me. “Where is Jeremy now? Is he okay?”

“Jeremy, huh?” Spy froze, realizing he’d let that slip. His tired and calm face quickly morphed into a panicked mess. “It’s fine, I would have figured his name out eventually, path we’re on. How can you claim to be so composed, messing up like that, mate?”

“I hardly said I was composed, bushman! I stated zhat my anger was not getting the better of me. Judging by zhat hand, yours already has.” I glanced down at my scraped up knuckles, really regretting hitting that wall now that numbness was fading to a dull stinging. "I pray that you have a better hold of that temper when in the presence of my son. He doesn't need to be exposed to so much unnecessary violence." Ignoring that ridiculous accusation, I grumbled, admitting to myself that he was right about the first part. I was on a downward spiral and this was only helping me along.

That being said, I wasn’t about to stop; not before I met the man that Scout had been drinking with. The man that lured him into a false sense of friendship and trust before betraying him. No, I wasn't stopping until I made that man beg me for mercy and scream for help that no one would give him.

“Which one of these blokes did Scout say was ‘Reggie’ again,” I asked, ignoring his comment.

“Zhat one,” he said, nodding to the man nailed to the floor. “Unlike zhis _homme pathétique_ ," Spy hissed, fingers twisting in the unconcious man's hair to yank his head back, "he is still conscious.”

“Good,” I growled, walking over to the man and crouching down over him. He was hardly much bigger than Scout himself, but every merc knew not to underestimate the size of your opponent, or in this case torture doll. Grabbing that bloodstained shirt and jerking him forward, I got a good look at his face. Looking over my shoulder at Spy, I whispered, “I’m about to show you how it’s done in the bush, mate.”

* * *

 Scout’s room was a mess, not that this was all too surprising, and I had to search through many boxes of what seemed to be _all_ of his possessions before I found one with clothes. I shuffled through the folded garments until I came across a pair of baggy black pants, much like his old ones, and sighed in relief. One day they were going to need new clothes. Respawn only does so much for natural wear down.

“Zhis vill do.” Upon exiting the runner’s room I ran into the other Scout, leaning against the wall in wait for me. “Scout? Vhat are you still doing here?”

“Ceasefire is still in pace, right?” He walked with me, keeping stride with my longer steps. “So, Doc… now that the Blu’s Scout is back do you still, you know, mean what you said yesterday?”

“Vhat in zhe vorld are you saying? I didn’t tell you zhose things because _our_ Scout was missing!” He perked up at that, his eyes glancing up at mine for a split second before looking down.

“So we can still… do this after the ceasefire is over, then?” That made me pause, looking down at the floor as well while we walked. Relations cross team were dangerous, but Sniper and Scout managed seemingly fine.

“Ve vill have to be careful, but yes. I zhink I vould like that." The runner nodded, a sudden giddy look on his face.

"Are you being serious right now, Doc? Cause I'm one hundred percent serious about this!" 

"As am I, but ve'll talk more about it later,” I said, reaching out and taking Scout’s hand in mine. “And zhe name is Ludwig, not Doc.”

“I thought we weren't suppose to tell anyone our real names." I gave him a look, watching as his cheeks grew a lovely shade of pink. "Right, mine’s uh… Mine’s Dash.” Fitting, I thought with a smile. When we reached my office I decided to let him come in. It would certainly do Jeremy some good to have a little company, as it was taking his lover a long time to return.

Much to my surprise, the Blu runner had fallen asleep while I was gone, laying on my exam table with the nothing but a shirt and towel.

"Tsk, fast asleep." Scout stared down at the man, a look on his face I wasn't sure to make of. He seemed genuinely sad and a little distant perhaps.

“Want me to wake him up,” he asked, looking back up at me.

“Ve should let him rest. Come, my room is zhis vay.” Moving past Scout quietly, I pushed the door to my bedroom open, letting it shut quietly behind me before pushing Dash onto my bed. “Now zhen, lets… ‘talk’.” 


	10. Freed From the Cage

"Just say ah," I growled, gripping Reggie's jaw tightly as I shoved the pliers back into his mouth, slowly wrenching what I believe was the fourth tooth, so far, out and earning a pained cry from him.

"Aghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Tossing the tooth I'd pulled on the floor I let the sadistic prick fall back, finally passing out after the long hour I'd spent making him as mangled as he is right now. The amount of damage inflicted didn’t matter, though, the only thing that mattered was how much pain he was in, and every second I’d spent with him was agony on his side.

Somehow, it didn’t feel like enough, yet. It wouldn’t be enough until both of these men were terrified and begging for death. So far, there’d been no begging for mercy or apologies for his actions, just screams. We’ll have to fix that in our next session, I thought with a grim smile.

Spy had watched my methods closely from the chair he’d sat in, clearly surprised I didn’t just start punching the man the second I’d begun. However, it was obvious he was also disgusted with my disregard for my own cleanliness; my hands and arms were covered in blood, my fingers slick with it as I looked down at them. Luckily my shirt had remained clean, for the most part. Not that I wasn’t used to walking around bloody, but I didn’t want to go meet Scout looking like one of those comic book villains he’s always talking about. With some of my anger sated I knew that wasn't a good idea.

“I did not expect you to be so creative, mon ami,” Spy told me as I dropped the bloody pliers, tossing me a small towel to clean myself up with, which I caught with little effort. Engie wouldn’t be too happy that I’d snatched some of his tools, but I’m sure he’d get over it when he found out they'd been put to good use. Not like he hadn't used them to bash the occasional skull in once or twice. Though, I guess it also wouldn’t hurt to clean the blood off before returning them; might make him a little more forgiving in the long run.

"Yeah, well I already had a few ideas before I even walked in." Since both Reggie and the man who remained unnamed were unconscious, I decided now was a good time for me to go. Wasn’t a point in sticking around if they wouldn’t feel anything I did, as much as I wasn't ready to leave just yet. Spy looked away from the bloody mess as I started towards the door.

“Had enough?”

“Not even close, mate, just taking a break. When he wakes up I'll be right back in this room,” I promised, heading to the door. I should go get Jeremy’s things now, little guy is probably wondering where I am. “I'll be seeing you later, Spook.”

"Of course."

* * *

The halls and rooms were a bit inverted over here in the Blu’s base and I had a hard time finding Scout’s room at first. Upon finding it and entering the unlocked room, however, I wasn’t at all surprised to see the little gremlin didn’t keep things organized. _That's just like him_ , I thought to myself as I looked at all the intriguing, if not useless, stuff he collected. Boxes full of baseball paraphernalia and even a few books, most of them also related to baseball but a few on art perspective, made up most of the junk that littered his floor, so it wasn't so much that it was trashed, just packed full.

The one lone shelf in his room was full of framed photos, ones of family for the most part and a few of the people on the Blu team and his childhood friends. They all seemed to be arranged very carefully so that the frames didn’t touch, but still utilized space to squeeze in as many pictures as he could. You couldn't even fit a piece of paper between half the frames, I thought slyly. It was kind of adorable, in a way, that he liked holding onto these things. Just one more thing to love about him. That list was growing longer every day the more I found out about him.

A small frame was hidden behind a bigger one on the shelf, facing the wrong way and obscuring the photo. The odd little detail made me pause to pick it up, wondering why he'd hide a photo among all these other proudly presented ones. A knot formed in my stomach as I flipped it over to see that it was a photo of me and Scout, back from before we'd first gotten together. I can't remember who had taken the photo, but in it I was sitting in the grass looking up at the clouds while Scout rested his head in my lap. One of my hands was entwined with his, sitting on his chest. I remembered that day well, recalling the fight Pyro and Demo had over who'd cook the burgers for our cookout. Demo ended up winning the argument when everyone realized that Pyro intended to cook them with his flamethrower. They'd been so loud and yet so far off to me and Scout, who were in our own little world. There was a big grin on his face, making me smile out of habit. That smile was brighter than the sun and I can't believe I hadn't kissed him that day.

I decided to take the photo, setting it down on the bed while I checked around his room for a bag or pack, finding a small duffel that should be able to hold a few of his things stuffed under his mattress frame. It’d have to work for now, I guess. I’m not sure how long he would be staying with me, especially since I didn’t want to ever let him out of my sight again, so I packed as many clothes as I could, grabbing his spare shoes as well, knowing those would be the first thing he looked for.

That seemed like more than enough for the time being, and if he needed something else I could always come back for it tomorrow. I gently tucked the photo into the overstuffed duffel bag before slinging it over shoulder. Exiting his room with the bag hanging off my shoulder I took note of the empty halls and quiet base. There weren’t many people walking around on the way here, either, so I was alone as I walked down to the Medic’s examination room. My guess is after these past few days of frantic searching they all needed a break and were zonked out in their respective rooms and living spaces. I was starting to reach my breaking point, too, but I could last just a little bit longer. Long enough to take Scout back to the camper and get him settled in. After that I’d take a much needed rest and wind down a bit. God knows we needed it, Scout even more than me.

“Alright, babes, you ready,” I asked as I threw the door to Medic’s room open, finding it empty save for Scout sleeping soundly, wearing nothing but a towel and shirt. Glancing around the room in search of Medic, I seen that he had left behind a pair of trousers for Scout to put on when he wakes up. Even though I didn’t exactly want to wake him up when he desperately needed this little nap, I also wasn’t sure he’d appreciate me dressing him in his sleep. Though, there was nothing I haven’t seen plenty of times before. Making my way over to Scout, I grabbed the trousers and tossed them on the exam table by his legs. Now that I was closer I could see his hair was still wet and he smelled faintly similar to the Medic. As gently as I could, I nudged his shoulder, earning a tired groan from him. “Pumpkin, that don’t look very comfortable. Come on, we can head back to my camper now.”

“You smell like blood,” he remarked tiredly, not even opening his eyes as I helped him sit up. While I directed his legs into the trousers he let his face fall against me, breathing my scent in deeply with his nose pushed into my shirt.

“Thought I smelled bad.” He shook his head, his nose rubbing against me and making me suppress a smile. Cute little bugger.

“Not bad, just bloody. You never smell bad, cept’ when you spend all day sitting around in the heat, peeing in jars like a weirdo.” Fair point, _snarky_ little bugger. His hands came up and rested on my arms, inhaling one more time.

“I hated not being able to do that these past few days,” Scout started, “and I really hated that I couldn’t just remember what you felt like, and how you smelled. We haven't gotten this close to each other in nearly two weeks thanks to that Soldier patrolling the grounds.”

“I know, Pumpkin. Things have been less than ideal lately, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You can stay with me for as long as you want. Nobody is taking you away from me, ever.” I didn’t bother waiting for him to stand, picking him up instead. That’d be quicker than steering him half asleep back to my camper. To my surprise, Scout didn’t object. Wasn’t often that he didn’t make a fuss about these sorts of things, but I figured he didn’t actually mind and it was usually just for show.

Neither of us spoke, probably because Scout was too tired to say anything in the first place, as I made my way out of the base. There was likely going to be some objections to me just stealing the Blu team’s Scout, probably from the Blu team themselves, but I frankly didn’t give a damn right now. Scout needed me; he needed to not be alone and stuck in his own head to remember and relive these past two days. I wasn't about to sit by and watch him fall apart because of this. In fact, I'd do everything in my power to stop it. If that meant bending the rules, then so be it; I'd bend them all for Scout.

My camper was still unlocked since I was in too much of a hurry to bother locking it last time I left out, so I carefully slid it open with the hand under Scout’s legs, turning sideways to carry him past the small threshold. The arm around my neck tightened when I leaned down to lay Scout on the couch, making me sigh.

“We’re home, Pumpkin, look.” Barely even acknowledging our surroundings, Scout turned his face against me refusing to let go.

“Just give me one more minute, I’m not ready yet,” he mumbled, voice muffled in my shirt. Sighing, I tried once more, this time keeping my arm around him while I set him down.

“Come on, Pumpkin, I’m not going far, and I’ll be here when you wake up.” Slowly letting me go, he allowed me to sit up without him, but kept his eyes shut tight. The room wasn’t bright or anything. In fact, I hadn’t bothered with the lights so it was quite dark, the only light coming in was the small stream from behind the blinds. Realizing that it must remind him of that dark room he’d been trapped in, I opened the blinds a little, letting in more light before I slipped beside him, lifting his head to rest on my body while I laid back so he didn’t have to be alone.

He relaxed a little as I held him and whispered, "There's nothing for you to worry about anymore." The second I leaned back I felt the stress and exhaustion of these past few days bearing down on me. I was fast asleep, unable to keep my eyes open a second longer.


	11. The Changing Of An Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof, sorry for the belated chapter, but I realized there were some things I had to fix in previous chapters! If you like, go back and reread some of it to get more from this story as a whole :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some gore, fluff, and a little smut!

While I slept, Scout in my arms, I was unaware of Spy’s plans for our captives. My absence or presence likely would not have been a deciding factor in his decision, or maybe it would had I not beaten Reggie near to death. Either way my actions as well as Spy's seemed to add to fate’s twisted sense of humor as it seemed she wasn't done with Scout just yet.

Even though he’d suffered so much already, even though he’d been forced to give up something so precious, it wasn’t over. Unlike when he was out of arm's reach, no feelings of dread plagued my sleep and I was able to dream without the foreboding sense of general unease. It was like being lulled into a false sense of security and I should have realized something was wrong sooner.

Had I known what deal was made in the few short hours that I rested, maybe things would have played out differently in the weeks to come, but I remained in the dark, eyes shut and mind blank. Whether that made a difference, I'd never know.

* * *

Unable to get ahold of the Blu Medic and unable to leave Respawn unattended, I was forced to turn to my own teams Medic, much to my dismay. I needed a bargaining chip if I wanted the Red Medic to heal the two men in Respawn, seeing as how the man hardly ever did anything without a price. While this was usually something I could respect and approve of, it would cost me today, and dealing with him was always pricey.

Luckily, I understand the lunatic well enough to know what he may want and as much as I wanted to be the one to kill both these freaks, it would have to suffice to give one up.

As the estranged doctor came into the room he paused to take in the blood stained floors, a smile tugging at his lips at the carnage. Perhaps I would not find him so creepy if that smile wasn't so misleading.

“You already killed zhem? I thought you vanted to take your time vith zhem, make zhem suffer,” he said, crouching down to grab Reggie’s collar and jerk him upright.

“Zhey are still alive. Our Aussie friend came here and took out his frustration on that one there.” The way Medic looked at the broken face made me sick, his eyes seeming to jump from bruise to bruise with fascination. “Despite my pleasure at seeing them like this, nothing I do will matter while zhey are in zhis state. I was hoping you would agree to heal zhem so I may resume zheir torture? Zhere is, afterall, still zhings I need to know from zhem.” Dropping the unconscious man back down to stand up and brush himself off, Medic seemed confused at my request as he cocked his head to look at me.

“You vish for me to heal zhem? Are you sure zhat’s a good idea, mein Freund?” I gestured to the other man, slumped over in the small metal chair, drawing his calculating eyes away from myself.

“I have my reasons. If you do zhis for me, I’ll give you zhat one,” I pointed to the man I still hadn’t been able to identify, “ _after_ I’m done with him, to do with anything you want, so long as you do so without question.” This peaked his interest some, thankfully.

“Anything,” Medic asked skeptically, trying to hide his excitement.

“Anything you want,” I conceded, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. “Heal them and when I’m finished with them you can do anything you please with him, so long as you kill him when you’re done. I do not want him breathing longer zhan necessary, understand? ”

“Deal,” Medic agreed, grabbing my hand and shaking it once before setting to work. I looked down at the blood his hand left on me, grimacing. Without even meaning to, I’d stayed mostly clean while torturing those two bastards, and Medic just ruined that.

“Good,” I said, wiping the blood off on my already ruined shirt, resisting the urge to glare at the doctor. My vest and jacket were likely with Scout in the Blu base’s clinic, but something told me I would just find myself throwing them out after recalling the memories that stained them alongside the blood seeped deep into the fine stitch, that is, if the Blu Medic hadn't already done so. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn about it even though I knew I usually would, as the thought of it only brought back all the events of what happened mere hours ago and thinking about that mess was painful.

Although I was tired, the fury and helplessness that I felt watching my son being defiled fueled me to stay awake longer; to watch, unflinching, as the Medic hauled Reggie off the floor to drag him next to the other man and begin snapping things back into place. The sickening sound of bones and cartilage snapping and breaking was nothing compared to the tortured wails of my son, and I found that what may have disgusted me last week only brought me mild discomfort now.

It truly had been a long night, the longest of my life, but I felt it wasn’t over yet. No, it’d never be over, I surmised. These past few days marked a change in many of us, a new era, in a way. The pain I would cause and the pain I had witnessed weren’t new to me in any way- though, nothing compared to what I had to witness-and there was no going back from it. For me or for my child.

Even after I finally lay my head down and close my eyes, whenever that may be, it will not be a new and better day when I rise.

How many people would I be able to save from knowing the truth of that? Would Laine be kept in the dark, or would she see the absence of light in my eyes next I met with her? Would she wonder why I’ve become so protective of the boy she once said could defend himself well enough, or ask why that same boy who always had an air or happiness and childlike wonder about him now seemed a thousand years older and ten times less joyful? Would his brothers notice when he next goes home and doesn't trust so easily as he use to? No doubt Laine would know, I suppose. 

How foolish she and I had both been, in saying such things as ‘everything will work out as long as we have each other’ or ‘our boy is tough as nails, nothing can hurt him’ and that nonsense! Jeremy had had me there with him and I could do nothing! It wasn’t enough to be there, I should have never been captured and thrown into that room helpless to defend him in the first place!

As for him being tough, no amount of fortitude could have protected him from the pain they inflicted; from the misery of having to be watched by his parent. Psychologically, I worried what that alone would do to him.

“Spy? Zhey are all set,” Medic said, snapping me back to reality and gesturing to the bloody but healthy men. The good doctor had taken precautions and subdued them first, thankfully. “If you don’t mind, I have a few ideas on the peak of human pain tolerance I’d like to test.”

* * *

“That was one hell of a talk, doc,” I said, panting heavily as I laid over the side of the bed, my arms dangling towards the floor and heat rushing to my face as I pushed it into the blanket. I wasn’t sure how I ended up like this, but I was too exhausted to move so I was staying here.

“Are you sure it’s over, mein Schatz?” A hand snaked slowly from my leg to the small of my back, rubbing little circles into it while Medic leaned over and kissed my shoulder. If it weren’t for the fact that I was a complete and utter limp heap of overstimulated nerves, I would have slapped his hand away.

“Stop it,” I whined, wiggling under his hand as it trailed lower. “How do you even still have any energy after all that? You never leave your lab to exorcise!” I turned my head to look at him, wrinkling my nose as he smugly brought his hand up to tug my face closer by my chin, kissing me deeply. His lips were soft, warm, tingly against mine. He tugged on my bottom lip a bit, biting it gently and making my stomach knot up.

The moment he broke away and released I fell back over, my eyes half closed and my face hot with embarrassment. How could someone be so good at kissing? Just one taste and he left me wanting, craving those lips on my skin until I was gasping for breath and begging for more. Just like when he’d pressed his teeth to my shoulder and nipped at it while I became a mess just a few moments ago. It had been unforgettable. 

“Zhat is a secret. Perhaps if you get better I’ll tell you one day.” The hint of a challenge had my pushing myself up on shaky arms, crawling to rest between Medic’s legs as he leaned back.

“When I get… better?” The smug look on his face faded into a fearful one as he realized his mistake.

“Not better at zhe sex, I meant stamina!” It was too late, though. While he gripped my shoulders I ducked my head down, reaching for his semi-aroused penis and stroking it until it was fully erect again.

“Same thing. Come on, Doc, I’ll show you how much better I can be.” He stifled a small gasp as my lips closed around him, his head falling back as I worked my tongue over his hard tip.

My own body was too exhausted to really become excited, but the sensation I got from seeing the way his hands gripped the sheets and his mouth fell open with a silent moan had me feeling smug and maybe a little overconfident. It was like a form of pleasure in itself.

When I started to pull away to say something snarky one of his hands reached down to grab a fistful of my hair, his eyes snapping to my face buried between his legs.

“Finish what you started,” he growled, his eyes full of lust and his voice dark, seeming to know I was about to say something ridiculous or off putting. I eased back down, taking more of his length in and trying to catch a look at his face to watch him come undone.

Needless to say, he was definitely unraveling under the pleasure. The fingers twisted in my hair loosened but stayed where they were, a gentle reminder to stay put while he tried to drag this whole experience out longer. His chest was rising and falling faster now, and I could feel his muscles tensing and releasing, bunching up as he was under my mercy.

Like this I could do with him whatever I wanted, maybe even hurt him, and that was a little overwhelming. Normally I would probably enjoy that leverage, but not with Medic. I wanted his hands to pull me harder against him, to drive himself deeper down my throat and roll those hips as he had done just an hour ago when he was burying himself between my legs instead of in my mouth. He was careful, though, controlled.

What had given me the impression that he wouldn’t be so cautious when that was just like him? Maybe it was his confidence, or the way he was so open about what he liked. Despite that eagerness of his, my comfort came first before his own desire to dominate. How many years had it taken him to learn such patience, I wondered. Maybe it came naturally to someone as smart as him.

I didn’t see it coming when he suddenly shot into my mouth, making me gag and pull back at the unfamiliar sensation. I spit the semen out, wiping my mouth as a single line of saliva fell from my lips. Not the most graceful grand finale, but Medic clearly wasn’t complaining.

Taking a moment to clear my throat and get the residual cum out, I realized that I’d just sucked off another guy like it was nothing. It had taken a while, can't expect someone to be great at it first time around, but I'd done it nonetheless. Talk about being an mvp!

"Schatz, zhat was..." The spent doctor let out a breathy chuckle, reaching down to grab my shoulders and tug me up. I crawled up to rest on his chest, tucking my head just below his and listening to the sound of his heartbeat. 

“You still feel like I can’t keep up?” The sound he made at that seemed disapproving, or at the very least indignant.

“You don’t have to prove anyzhing to me, my treasure. I never doubted you for a second,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

“Yeah, well I had fun proving it, anyway.” We chuckled, his chest shaking under me.

“I certainly enjoyed it. Thank you, Dash.” Such a gentleman now that he’s coming down from the high, I thought with a grin.

“So, would you say your satisfied now?” Lazily dragging his hand down my back, Medic rolled over and dumped me onto the bed, eyes practically twinkling.

“More than you could possibly imagine.” I don’t know, if he felt half as good as he made me feel, I had an idea. “Get some rest, my treasure.”

“Only if you stay with me,” I whispered, grabbing for his hand. He let me capture it and tug it between us. It would be easy for him to simply pull away, he was stronger than me, but he didn’t.

“I’m not going anywhere, treasure. I promise.”


	12. Full Disclosure: I Love You

Night had just settled over the humid desert when Sniper woke up to Scout shifting carefully on top of him. An ache had settled into his shoulder and back from the way they had fallen asleep, one that'd kill him next time he swung his kuhkri, but Sniper ignored it as best he could while he blinked away the sleep from his eyes. For a few seconds he was too groggy to process what Scout was doing, but disorientation faded to realization when Sniper felt him shaking. 

“You cold, pumpkin?” Like he’d just been caught doing something wrong, Scout jumped, entire body tensing up and nearly slipping off of Sniper. He relaxed when the man under him set a hand to his shoulder, rubbing it gently to soothe him.

“Just a little,” he whispered quietly, setting back against his lover and resting the side of his face against Sniper's chest. A single wet droplet seeped through Sniper's shirt under Scout's face and turned cold against his skin, surprising the marksman. Why was Scout crying? 

Oh. He’d been hurt. Right, Sniper. thought grimly as he vividly remembered everything about these past few days. What had been going on here on the base with Scout going missing at the bar, the kidnappers, abusers, rapists. The torture they inflicted and the torture they received. Now wide awake, Sniper linked his arm around the shivering mess and placed a warm hand on Scout's stomach, blanketing him.

“Sorry, is this better?” A small nod was all he got in response. “You hungry?”

“Not really.” Nothing was more out of character for Scout than silence. The Bostonian could talk faster than he ran when he was all zonked out on bonk. 

“Thirsty? I can make some tea. Bet I got some of those energy drinks still, too.” Sniper would run all the way to the base and back if he had to. 

“I’m not thirsty either.” Right, not hungry, not thirsty, that’s fine. Probably just cause of the Medigun.

“Are you in any pain, I can take you back to the doc, if ya need.” He shook his head, kissing Sniper's chest before settling back into him. Now Sniper was downright terrified. “You gotta give me something here, Scout. Anything.” Scout rolled his head over to the side, looking up at Sniper with less tears than I thought there’d be. He almost looked at peace, if you ignored the hollow look in his eyes.

“I think I’m okay, Sniper. Medic said something that kind of put things into perspective. I can’t promise it’ll last but for right now I’m kind of just… numb.” 

“You don’t havta promise anything, pumpkin. I mean, I was getting myself ready for world war 3 and a scene worthy of an oscar. Even practiced a speech about all the things I love about you and how worried I was when they said you were missing. It’s a long speech,” Sniper said, pulling him down to kiss his forehead. He laughed, a comforting sound in comparison to the silence before.

“A whole speech? You spoil me, Snipe.” Sniper was so sure Scout would be a mess. Crying, pushing him away, even blaming him. If Sniper had just been closer to him Scout would have told him about the bar and the late night trips. If he hadn’t been so sure Scout was fine on his own… “Snipes?”

“Yeah?” Snipes glanced down at him, watching his face closely as he shut his eyes.

“What do you really love about me?”

* * *

A certain enemy Scout had finally fallen asleep in his bed, so Medic got up to make sure the Blu Scout wasn’t still laying in his clinic, half naked and waiting on his knight in shining armor. He didn't bother getting dressed, he very much doubted anyone would care that he was nude, but before opening the door to his lab he thought better of that and slipped into the robe in his dresser. If Scout was still there, he didn't want to surprise the boy with bare nakedness after such an ordeal. 

When Medic found the room quiet and lonesome he couldn’t help smiling solemnly at the empty bed. That Sniper, even if he was the enemy, was going to take good care of that boy. As a doctor, however disgraced, he could feel it. It would do Scout good to have someone with that iron will love that no one could break through. There was a time when Medic thought love like that was foolish, but that had been long before he stepped back to watch what those two had bloom. Sniper will keep him in the right of mind, at the least.

Looking around now that things had calmed down, Medic realized the whole room was an absolute mess. Not just because of his usual clutter, either. Blood, medical instruments, the towel Scout had been using. So disorganized… After shutting the lights off and cleaning the equipment left lying about, there was only one thing left to do. Sleep for the next week in a half, or however long the administrator lets us get away with. Oh how they were all in need of rest.

Returning to bed with some small peace of mind, Medic's hands found Scout’s narrow body and he pulled the narrow body flush against his own, relaxing back into bliss. Even knowing what chaos tomorrow would bring, he found it quite a relief for things to be back on track.

* * *

For a second Sniper thought Scout was joking, talking about his  “speech” he’d offered, but when he didn’t smile or wave the question off Sniper wasn’t so sure. Careful not to push him off the sofa, he sat up, slipping Scout off him to crouch on the floor between his legs. 

“Where can I even begin? Well, definitely your smile. Did you know one of my favorite things about you is that smile? And I’ve told you how much I love your jokes, right? Let’s see, what else…” Sniper leaned in and kissed his hand. “Your charm and luck, and lets not forget all that skill. There’s your energy and how you’re just so never ending, and always bouncing back when someone knocks you down. You are so full of surprised, too. When I look at you I can see things I never paid attention to before, Scout. This little freckle right here,” he said as he poked Scout's cheek, “and the dot from where I know you had your ears pierced.” Scout's face tinted a bit red at that. “That look on your face when you realize something and it completely blows you away. I love you because you are honest, because you never give up, and because you don’t need anyone else to tell you who you are, Scout.” 

"How can you be so sure I'll stay like that? What if I stop telling jokes, or get real bad at everything? Snipes, what if I can't smile anymore?" He made as if to reach up and hide his face but Sniper was faster, snatching his unwrapped hands and tugging them back down.

"I'd love you still. Even if you couldn't bring yourself to laugh every time this old sniper made a sweet moment awkward. In fact, I'd love you the same if you lost both your arms and turned into a cyclops like Demo." And that was the truth of it, wasn't it? Sniper would love this man for the rest of their lives. 

“Jeremy.” I blinked. Then blinked again. “Call me Jeremy.” Before he could stop it, a smile was spreading across his face and Sniper leaned in, kissing Scout on the nose and then the cheek and everywhere he could reach.

“Nice to finally meet you Jeremy. I’m Michael,” Sniper said with a laugh, not wanting to tell him how he already knew because of Spy’s slip up earlier. The runner smiled too, a small thing but it made the camper seem brighter. Hell, it made life seem brighter. 

“Michael. Yeah, I can see it. Michael,” Scout whispered to himself. 

“Jeremy,” he whispered back, leaning in to touch his nose to Scout's. The two of them had definitely done far more romantic things than share names, or at least, Sniper seemed to remember a vague memory of running the halls of Dustbowl's blu base with a half smashed bouquet of roses and begging on his knees after a particularly odd night, but something about the finality of knowing exactly who Scout was made his chest swell with new kind of adoration and love that he'd never felt before.

“Michael and Jeremy.” His smile was gone and he yawned loudly, eyes shut tight.

“Let’s get to bed, Pumpkin. The actual bed this time, my back can’t take this sofa anymore.” He let Sniper pull him up and even followed vague directions up to the bed, all the while shuffling his feet and holding Sniper's hand. As they laid down Scout was quick to slip between Sniper and the wall, pressing his face directly into Snipe's chest again and breathing in deeply.

“Goodnight Snipes.” 

“Night Pumpkin.”


End file.
